Department for Transport

Large Goods Vehicles: Safety Measures

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of phasing out externally audible warning devices that activate when heavy goods vehicles are reversing and in their place require those vehicles to be fitted with reversing cameras.

Rachel Maclean: It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure that they manoeuvre their vehicle safely. Reversing cameras can assist by making it easier for them to see people and hazards around their vehicle, and work is underway internationally to improve direct and indirect vision for drivers. External audible alarms are complementary and are intended to warn people outside a vehicle that it is reversing. There are no plans to assess the phasing out of external audible alarms.

Driving: Licensing

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to enable (a) bus drivers and (b) lorry drivers to renew their expiring driving licences during the covid-19 outbreak.

Rachel Maclean: To keep bus and lorry drivers on the road, the Government has made temporary provisions to remove the requirement to submit a medical report when applying to renew a bus or lorry driving licence until further notice. Provided they have no notifiable medical conditions, drivers will be issued a licence that is valid for one year instead of the usual five. This only applies if the licence expired after 1 January 2020 or is due to expire.As is always the case, drivers must ensure they are medically fit to drive and they are legally obliged to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency of the onset or worsening of any medical condition.

Horse Riding: Accidents

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the British Transport Police collects data on the number of horse-related incidents that occur on roads.

Rachel Maclean: BTP does not collect this data as its remit is for the rail network only.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Ministers of his Department have had discussions with representatives of car insurance firms since the 2019 General Election.

Rachel Maclean: There have been no meetings between Ministers of the Department for Transport and representatives of motor insurance firms since the General Election of 2019. Department for Transport officials have been in regular dialogue with representatives of motor insurers such as the Association of British Insurers and the Motor Insurers’ Bureau and bring issues to the attention of Ministers when necessary.

Uber

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Ministers of his Department have had discussions with representatives of Uber since the 2019 General Election.

Rachel Maclean: Ministers meet regularly with the taxi and private hire vehicle sector to discuss a variety of issues. Details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dft-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings#2019

Logistics and Transport: Coronavirus

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to ensure that the transport and logistics industry is financially supported to safeguard the viability of businesses during the covid-19 outbreak.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the viability of businesses in the transport and logistics sector. That is why the Government has announced an unprecedented package of financial measures to support businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic, worth £350 billion.Bespoke interventions have been used to protect critical services across many forms of transport, including lifeline services for remote locations. Any such intervention to support specific businesses must represent value for money for the taxpayer.

Logistics and Transport: Coronavirus

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made on the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on the transport and logistics industry.

Rachel Maclean: The Department continues to collect, receive and assess data about the transport and logistics industry. This includes in respect of the level of transport and logistics operations and labour availability. The effects of the pandemic have been substantial and varied across the industry.

Aviation: Coronavirus

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that social distancing measures can be introduced at airports and by airlines to ensure the safety of (a) air crews, (b) passengers and (c) visitors to UK airports.

Kelly Tolhurst: Officials are continuing to engage with the aviation sector to ensure they are supported in implementing new operational practices. This includes facilitating a weekly phone call with Public Health England to enable the aviation industry to raise operational questions directly wherever necessary.The European Union Aviation Safety Agency's requirement that aircraft be disinfected after every flight also applies to London Heathrow Airport; this will further mitigate health risks to staff and passengers.Public Health England has developed specific guidance for flight crews on keeping themselves and their passengers safe, including guidance on safe principles of working and on the use of personal protective equipment.A General Aircraft Declaration (GAD) process will now be required for all flights coming to the UK requiring crew to identify symptomatic passengers before arrival, with a similar process being implemented for maritime and international rail.

Railways: North of England

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to introduce additional train services to the timetable in the former Northern Rail franchise area.

Chris Heaton-Harris: We are working with Northern Trains Ltd to identify the improvements for rail services and performance. Work is also underway to consider the impact of passenger demand due COVID-19, which is currently subject to a great deal of uncertainty.

A38: Bromsgrove

Sajid Javid: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 oubreak on the expected completion date for improvements to the A38 in Bromsgrove.

Rachel Maclean: The Department for Transport is working with Worcestershire County Council on the development of this scheme. We hope to consider their assessment on whether it should be added to the programme of Local Authority promoted schemes in due course.

Railways: North of England

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to replace the Service Option Fund on the former Northern Rail franchise.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Under the new agreement with Northern Trains Ltd, there is no longer a formal Service Options Fund to help capture the aspirations for additional services however the operator is required to continue this development work through its ongoing discussions with stakeholders. Aligned with this is the work to understand passenger demand as a result of COVID-19. Although there is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding this, we always welcome suggestions to help better connect our towns and cities.

Large Goods Vehicles: Coronavirus

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure that road hauliers have access to (a) hot food, (b) toilet facilities, and (c) washing facilities while making long-distance deliveries during the covid-19 outbreak.

Rachel Maclean: Officials in the Department have been working closely with the freight associations and operators of Motorway Service Areas (MSAs), to ensure that the MSAs continue to provide suitable food, toilets and shower facilities to hauliers travelling on the road network. We have also been working with large Regional Distribution Centres (RDCs), to ensure they have implemented hygiene procedures and social distancing in line with government guidelines. In a small number of cases, MSA operators have reduced the opening hours of some facilities, but fuel, toilets, and takeaway food and drink currently remain available at all MSAs 24 hours a day. MSAs must provide these amenities as required by the DfT planning circular. Truck stops and garages may also provide facilities, however, these are private businesses which are subject to different levels of regulation to MSAs. Where access to toilet or handwashing facilities is denied, and proper social distancing measures are not in place, this can be reported via e-mail to covid19info@rha.uk.net.

Large Goods Vehicles: Coronavirus

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people who have applied for a key worker lorry driving test due to the covid-19 outbreak have been able to access such a test.

Rachel Maclean: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has booked 302 emergency lorry driving tests for critical workers for the period 23 March to 19 June 2020.The DVSA does not hold data on the number of people who have applied for a key worker lorry driving test due to the covid-19 outbreak. This is because the booking system that was used between 23 March and 24 April 2020 was a manual system that captured the number of emails received, not number of unique requests received.The DVSA has now streamlined the process and introduced a new online application form.

Cycleways and Public Footpaths

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to provide local authorities with new powers in relation to the creation of new cycle and walking routes which are objected to by landowners.

Chris Heaton-Harris: On the 9th May the Government published fast-tracked statutory guidance to local authorities on reallocating road space to encourage cycling and walking and enabling social distancing. The guidance highlights the importance of consultation and engaging with local businesses. There are no plans to provide any additional powers.

Aviation: Coronavirus

Sir Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what scientific or medical advice he based the decision to include passengers arriving from countries which have the same or lower levels of covid-19 infection as the UK in the 14-day quarantine policy.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Home Office will be introducing new health protection measures at the border, and details will be published soon. Further queries should be directed to the Home Office.

Roads: Coronavirus

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to make it easier for people to drive to work while the use of public transport is restricted during the covid-19 outbreak.

Rachel Maclean: New guidance published on 12 May 2020 provides advice on how passengers should make journeys safely, and to consider changing their travel habits - including cycling, walking as well as driving, following the publication of the Government’s roadmap and strategy for the next phase of the pandemic. The public have been urged to continue to work from home if they can. Those driving their own cars have been asked to avoid busy areas. To help reduce pressure on the transport network so there is space for social distancing where possible, the Secretary of State has spoken to train and bus operators and local authorities to ensure they increase the number of available services over the coming weeks towards pre-COVID-19 levels as quickly and safely as possible.

Railways: Coronavirus

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to control the number of people using (a) underground and (b) overground trains during the covid-19 lockdown.

Rachel Maclean: Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and delivered by Transport for London (TfL). The management of passengers on the London Underground and Overground is a matter for TfL who, consistent with Government advice, are encouraging passengers to use public transport only when essential. Passengers are also being advised to wear face masks if possible when using public transport. We continue to work closely with TfL to monitor their plans on management of social distancing at TfL stations and wider plans for travel demand management.

Bus Services and Railways: Coronavirus

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of what constitutes a safe number of people travelling (a) on a bus and (b) in a train carriage during the covid-19 outbreak.

Rachel Maclean: We have been working closely with operators to understand the limitations on passenger numbers. Capacity in a vehicle or carriage will vary depending on the specific type of bus or rail rolling stock. The 2 metre social distancing rule will leave effective capacity on public transport for 1 in 10 passengers on average compared to levels before the Coronavirus pandemic. Where it is not possible to maintain the recommended social distance, passengers are being advised to avoid physical contact, wear face coverings and wash or sanitise their hands as frequently as they can.

Aviation: Coronavirus

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to announce health screening measures to enable a (a) restarting of aviation in the UK and (b) basis of a common international standard for global travel.

Kelly Tolhurst: In line with the Prime Minister’s announcement in relation to the next phase of the pandemic, the Department for Transport will introduce new measures specific to the aviation sector later this month as part of the Government’s overall efforts. Further, the Department is working closely with the aviation sector to co-produce agreed common standards on health measures that could be deployed throughout the aviation customer journey. These measures will help to restart the sector and provide passengers and staff with the confidence they need to start flying again. The Department is working internationally to aim to ensure any UK measures are recognised globally given the international nature of the sector.

M3 and M27: Safety

Mr Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that road users are informed of how safely to use smart motorways on (a) the M27 between J4 and J11 and (b) part of the M3 between J9 and J14 prior to their opening.

Mr Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure road users are informed of how safely to act in the event of a breakdown on smart motorways on (a) the M27 between J4 and J11 and (b) part of the M3 between J9 and J14 prior to their opening.

Mr Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the safety of road users of implementing fixed safe speed restrictions at high-risk points on smart motorways on (a) the M27 between J4 and J11 and (b) part of the M3 between J9 and J14.

Rachel Maclean: Highways England runs regular national public information campaigns to help improve driver confidence and safety when using the Strategic Road Network (SRN). Detailed advice about safe driving on England’s motorways and major A-roads is available on its website www.highwaysengland.co.uk/motorways. Since 2016, Highways England has run eight national smart motorways public awareness campaigns. Last Summer and again in February this year, it ran national public awareness campaigns on how to drive safely on its motorways, including messaging on what to do in a breakdown and smart motorway features, including Red X and variable speed limits. Highways England will continue to deliver national public awareness campaigns, with the next one planned for later this year on what to do in the event of a breakdown. More widely, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State commissioned a review into smart motorway safety which reported earlier this year, with 18 measures to raise the bar on smart motorway safety, notwithstanding that the evidence shows that in most ways, smart motorways are as safe as, or safer than, the conventional ones. These measures included committing to an additional £5million on national targeted communications campaigns to further increase awareness and understanding of smart motorways, how they work and how to use them confidently. Highways England is delivering a number of communications activities for the M27 Junction 4 to 11 Smart Motorway Scheme ahead of opening to help customers understand how to safely use a smart motorway. These include local exhibition events at community centres along the length of the scheme, information points at shopping centres, and the creation of scheme specific newsletters as well as information leaflets. Local authorities and other key stakeholders are also encouraged to share information using their own communication channels. Highways England expects to follow a similar communication strategy for the M3 scheme. The M27 Junction 4 to 11 Smart Motorway Scheme will utilise variable mandatory speed limits (VMSL) which are set automatically in response to the level of congestion or traffic queues. Sensors detect the speed and volume of traffic, and this is used to calculate the optimum speed to keep vehicles moving smoothly, reducing the level of stop-start traffic and congestion. The M3 Junctions 9 to 14 Smart Motorway Scheme is also planned to operate with VMSLs following a consultation, in which there was no opposition to the specifics of implementing VMSL.

Railways: Coronavirus

Simon Baynes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support the rail industry during the covid-19 outbreak.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Department has offered operators of all of its franchises a short-term Emergency Measures Agreement, a six month pause of the financial mechanisms within their Franchise Agreements. This offer has been accepted in all cases and the agreements have been in place since 1 April, effective from 1 March. They have stabilised the industry, kept services running and provided assurance for those working on the railway. We continue to work to support operators as needed and bring stability and certainty to the industry during this turbulent time.

London Airports: Coronavirus

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the percentage decrease has been in flights arriving at (a) Heathrow and (b) Gatwick airports since the start of the covid-19 lockdown in the UK; and what proportion of flights arriving during that period were (i) cargo only and (ii) passenger or cargo with passengers.

Kelly Tolhurst: Monitoring of flight traffic conducted by Eurocontrol shows that between 24 March 2020 and 11 May 2020 the total number of flights arriving at Heathrow and Gatwick have decreased by 84% and 98% respectively when compared to the same date range of the previous year. It is not possible to accurately determine from this data source whether flights during this period were cargo only or passenger flights, this information is officially collected by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and received from UK airports up to two months after the end of each month in adherence to statistical regulation (EC) 437/2003 on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of passengers, freight and mail by air.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many pieces of written correspondence his Department has received (a) in favour of (b) against High Speed Two since 2015.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department’s correspondence handling system holds records of 7062 items of written correspondence received by the High Speed Rail and Major Projects Group since February 2016. The records management policy for the system is to hold records for the current year and previous three years. The number of items of correspondence for and against HS2 could only be provided at disproportionate cost as each case would have to be opened and checked.

Bicycles: VAT

Mr Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of removing VAT from bicycles on trends in the (a) uptake of active travel, (ii) health of the general public and (iii) size of NHS waiting lists.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Government has made no assessment of the potential effect of removing VAT from bicycles and has no plans to do so. On the 9th May the Government announced a £2bn package of funding for cycling and walking. This includes £250m which will encourage cycling to work through the provision of pop up bike lanes with protected space for cycling, as well as vouchers for cycle repairs and greater provision for bike fixing facilities.

Large Goods Vehicles: Coronavirus

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of HGV vehicles awaiting their annual test since those tests were suspended due to the covid-19 outbreak; and what steps is taking to reduce that backlog.

Rachel Maclean: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



Approximately 146,000 heavy goods vehicles (HGV) have been exempt from testing since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is working to put plans in place to manage test demand and resume HGV testing (heavy goods vehicles and public service vehicles (buses and coaches)) as soon as it is practical to allow safe vehicle testing. These plans are being developed jointly with the trade.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Business: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to support business to comply with social distancing measures when covid-19 lockdown measures are eased.

Paul Scully: On Monday the Government published guidance on how to work safely in a number of different working environments so that employers can use the guidance which is most relevant to them. This guidance will help organisations meet their obligations under health and safety law, and the Government will continue to engage across the economy as this guidance beds in. If work cannot be carried out from home then it is important that social distancing is maintained, as per the scientific advice. If social distancing cannot be carried out, employers should consider whether the task can go ahead, or if it can be altered to allow for social distancing. The Government has also announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency, including a Bounce Back Loans scheme.

Sunday Trading

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the potential suspension of Sunday trading laws on shopworker's wellbeing.

Paul Scully: The Employment Rights Act 1996 already recognises Sunday as a special day for many people and entitles employees in shops and betting shops to opt out of working on Sunday if they do not wish to work on a Sunday. Unless Sunday is the only day they have been employed to work, all shop and betting shop employees can opt out of Sunday working at any time by giving their employer three months’ notice, even if they agreed to it in their contract.We are aware that some large establishments support a temporary relaxation of Sunday Trading laws during the Covid-19 crisis which we are keeping under review, including the impact on workers.

Coronavirus: Screening

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the UK's capacity to mass manufacture a test for covid-19.

Amanda Solloway: There is a clear and unprecedented demand for testing supplies. The Department of Health and Social Care is leading on the government’s approach to testing for COVID-19 and the National Diagnostics Effort to scale up the UK’s diagnostics industry, as part of the government’s Testing Strategy. The UK has an innovative, but relatively small diagnostics industry, and both the Department for Health and Social Care and The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy are working with companies, including UK manufacturers, to ramp up their capacity as quickly as possible. The Department of Health and Social Care is also working closely with industry to obtain maximum possible supplies for the UK and with the scientific community to explore innovative new options for test kits.

Travel: Coronavirus

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he plans to take against travel companies and airlines refusing to refund customers for cancellations.

Paul Scully: Package travel agencies are required to comply with The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, which protect consumers who have bought package holidays. Consumers are entitled to a refund if forced to cancel a package holiday due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which should be issued within 14 days, depending on the nature of the contract in place. Further information on the rights and responsibilities of consumers and businesses was published on 30 April by the Competition and Markets Authority who have also set up a covid-19 taskforce for consumers to register complaints.

British Business Bank: Coronavirus

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will take steps to ensure that the British Business Bank reduces the time taken for the accreditation process for (a) fintech banks and (b) other new lenders to be eligible to provide Government backed covid-19 loans.

Paul Scully: Accrediting new lenders for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) is a priority for the British Business Bank. The Bank is working at pace to accredit more lenders to further extend the Schemes’ reach and provide more choice for businesses whilst ensuring the accreditation process remains robust. The Bank has put substantial additional resources in lace to create a streamlined process within the Bank to help onboard new lenders seeking accreditation as quickly as possible. For example, existing lenders accredited under the CBILS may have an expedited accreditation process for the BBLS. There are currently 16 accredited lenders for BBLS, over 60 accredited lenders for CBILS and 10 accredited lenders for CLBILS.

Postal Services: Coronavirus

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2020 to Question 40974, on Postal Services: Coronavirus, whether he plans to make representations to the Royal Mail on the timeframe for reversing the temporary suspension of the Universal Service Obligation.

Paul Scully: Royal Mail’s services are playing an important part to help mitigate the impact of coronavirus on individuals, families and businesses up and down the country, particularly during this period of increased social isolation. Following Royal Mail’s announcement on 28 April that it would be temporarily suspending Saturday letter deliveries, on 1 May it stated that six days a week letter deliveries will resume from 13 June.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing financial support to businesses that are unable to access the Bounce Back Loan Scheme because of a low turnover in the last financial year.

Paul Scully: The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) is available to most UK-based businesses, regardless of turnover, who meet the eligibility criteria and who were established on or before 1 March 2020. However, a business in agriculture, aquaculture or fisheries may not qualify for the full amount if it is a ‘business in difficulty’ as of 31 December 2019. Similarly, if classed as a ‘business in difficulty’ the loan cannot be used for export-related activities. The size of the loan that is available to a business is linked to its turnover. Small and medium-sized businesses can borrow between £2,000 and up to 25% of their turnover. The maximum loan available is £50,000.

Research: Small Businesses

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the support package for research and development intensive small and medium size firms announced by the Government on 20 April 2020, if he will publish the amount of funding allocated under that scheme once it has gone live, on a (a) weekly and (b) monthly basis.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will provide additional information on the 1,200 firms not currently in receipt of Innovate UK funding, who are eligible for the support package for research and development intensive small and medium size firms announced by the Government on 20 April 2020.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether firms that have pending applications with Innovate UK are eligible for the support package for research and development intensive small and medium size firms announced by the Government on 20 April 2020.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how Innovate UK customers are defined in the eligibility criteria for the support package for research and development intensive small and medium size firms announced by the Government on 20 April 2020.

Amanda Solloway: Further details on the £750m package of support for R&D intensive small and medium sized firms, to be delivered through Innovate UK, are now available on their website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-coronovirus-business-innovation-support-package This includes guidelines on eligibility requirements and the full scope of competitions. In building this package Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, worked closely with BEIS and HMT to identify those organisations that it could offer effective support to, that would have struggled to access the wider packages of support my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer had already announced. As part of the exercise Innovate UK will be funding projects that have not previously had Innovate UK funding. This will be subject to a competitive process and will initially aim to fund around 1200 companies. Innovate UK transparency data is published on a monthly basis on the Gov.uk website and includes information on all funded projects. Additionally information on projects can be found online at Gateway to Research.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme: Northern Ireland

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timescale is for the accreditation of banks in Northern Ireland to enable those banks to provide Bounce Back loans to small businesses during the covid-19 outbreak.

Paul Scully: Accrediting new lenders for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) is a priority for the British Business Bank. The Bank is working at pace to accredit more lenders, including lenders operating in Northern Ireland, to further extend the Scheme’s reach and provide more choice for businesses. The Bank has put substantial additional resources in place to create a streamlined process within the Bank to help onboard new lenders seeking accreditation as quickly as possible. For example, existing lenders accredited under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) may have an expedited accreditation process for the BBLS. There are currently 16 accredited lenders for the BBLS, with three operating specifically in Northern Ireland.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much the average loan issued under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme is.

Paul Scully: The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) has been introduced to help small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2000 and £50,000. As of 10 May, over 268,000 loans have been issued with a total value of over £8.3 billion.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what additional manufacturing capacity there is in the UK for manufacturing a vaccine for covid-19 once one is developed.

Amanda Solloway: The Vaccines Taskforce is working with the BioIndustry Association Taskforce to review existing domestic capability to manufacture vaccines, in response to Covid-19. The Taskforce is also reviewing options for increasing this capacity. The Business Secretary recently announced that the government will accelerate building the UK’s first Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, which is based at Harwell in Oxfordshire. The government will invest up to a further £93 million in the Centre, ensuring that it opens in summer 2021 – a full 12 months ahead of schedule. The Centre – which is already under construction – will have capacity to produce enough vaccine doses to serve the entire UK population in as little as 6 months. While the Centre is being built, the government will establish a rapid deployment facility thanks to a further investment of £38 million to begin coronavirus vaccine manufacturing at scale from this summer. This facility will support efforts to ensure a vaccine is widely available to the public as soon as possible.

Company Voluntary Arrangements: Coronavirus

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has held discussions with his EU counterparts on the Government’s decision to prevent companies in CVA from benefitting from the coronavirus small business grants schemes; and for what reasons that decision was made in relation state aid rules.

Paul Scully: There are a number of Coronavirus small business grant schemes available, including Small Business grants and Retail and Hospitality and Leisure grants. These grant schemes are intended to support companies struggling as a consequence of Coronavirus, to allow them to re-open on the other side of the lockdown. The guidance on these grants therefore excludes from eligibility businesses which were in liquidation or dissolved as of 11 March. Although the UK has left the EU, under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the EU State aid rules continue to apply in the UK until the end of the Transition Period. A Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) is a type of insolvency procedure. Small Business grants are paid under the existing State aid de minimis rules and can be given notwithstanding a CVA. Retail Hospitality and Leisure grants are provided under the UK Covid-19 Temporary Framework. Businesses receiving this grant must confirm they were not an Undertaking in Difficulty on 31 December 2019. Under the Temporary Framework, if the business became an undertaking in difficulty after 31 December 2019 it can still receive aid under the Temporary Framework. As companies in CVA are not prevented from receiving Small Business grants, the Government has not discussed this issue with the European Commission.

Amazon: Deliveroo

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the effect that Amazon's potential investment in Deliveroo could have on traditional takeaway businesses.

Paul Scully: Competition investigations into mergers are a matter for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is an independent non-Ministerial department. The CMA is currently conducting a review of this transaction. This is being carried out independently and Ministers do not have a role.

Coal Fired Power Stations

John Lamont: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to bring forward phasing out coal from the energy sector to 2024.

Kwasi Kwarteng: We have confirmed our commitment to put an end to unabated coal power generation from 2025, and on 4 February 2020 my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced the Government’s intention to consult on bringing forward the coal closure date to 1 October 2024. A closure in 2024 would mean that in 10 years we have reduced our reliance on unabated coal generation from around a third of our electricity supply to zero. We will consult on this in due course. As a result of our existing policies, including carbon pricing and our support for renewables, we have already made great headway in reducing our reliance on coal, which fell from 39% in 2012 to less than 3% in 2019.

Energy: Prices

John Lamont: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of the energy price cap for consumers in (a) the Scottish Borders, (b) Scotland and (c) the rest of the UK.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Government introduced the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act on 1January 2019 to protect GB consumers on default tariffs This followed the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) two-year investigation into the energy market, which concluded that energy customers on default and standard variable tariffs were being significantly overcharged. The cap currently protects around 11 million households on default tariffs across GB. Ofgem estimate that the tariff cap is saving consumers between £75 and £100 per year on average and a total of £1 billion annually.

Ofgem: Glasgow

John Lamont: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to paragraph 2.131 of the Budget 2020 Red Book, how many additional civil servants Ofgem plans to employ in Glasgow.

Kwasi Kwarteng: Ofgem currently employs 385 staff plus 20-40 contractors in its Glasgow office. Ofgem is committed to their presence in Glasgow and are exploring new office premises, but do not have a specific target number of staff to be based there.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

John Lamont: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many applicants in (a) the Scottish Borders, (b) Scotland and (c) the UK have been granted loans under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

Paul Scully: The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) has been introduced to help small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2000 and £50,000. As of 10 May, over 268,000 loans have been issued in the UK with a total value of over £8.3 billion. Issuing new loans is the priority for lenders and the British Business Bank and we are working to ensure that companies receive the full benefits from the support being provided. At this time, we are unable to provide a breakdown of funding or number of applications by region. We are working with the British Business Bank, HM Treasury and the lenders on regular and transparent data publication going forward.

Industrial Health and Safety: Coronavirus

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that employers provide sufficient levels of personal protective equipment to their employees once they return to work after the covid-19 lockdown.

Paul Scully: We have provided guidance on how to work safely in a number of different working environments, such as offices, factories, and working outdoors – so that employers can use the guidance which is most relevant to them. The safety of all workers is at the forefront of this guidance. Our approach is clinically led, based on the expert advice of the UK’s Chief Medical Officer for England, the NHS and Public Health England. We are led by the evolving science in this work and as the scientific and medical advice changes, the guidance will be updated to reflect this. Where workers already wear PPE for protection against non-COVID risks, such as dust, they should continue to wear this PPE. The best way to manage the risk of COVID-19 is to implement robust social distancing measures and other physical controls. Outside of a clinical setting there is very little evidence to support the use of PPE and we would anticipate that an employer’s risk assessment and risk management decisions would reflect that the role of PPE in providing additional protection is extremely limited. We recommend that PPE is not used in working environments where it would not normally be required. Good hygiene and minimising social contact remain the most effective way of managing the risks of COVID-19. However, if an employers’ risk assessment does show that PPE is required, employers must provide this PPE free of charge to employees.

Industrial Health and Safety: Coronavirus

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Government will require employers to publish comprehensive covid-19 risk assessments in advance of the return of their employees to work after the covid-19 lockdown.

Paul Scully: The Government has published guidance developed with industry experts, unions, business organisations, local Government, and other stakeholders, requiring employers to carry out risk assessments as part of normal health and safety practice in order to get employees back to work safely. Employers need to develop their risk assessments with input from unions and workers, as they do under normal circumstance. All businesses should share the results of their risk assessment with their employees. We are asking employers to publish the results of these assessments whenever possible. The Government expects larger organisations – those with over 50 workers – to publish the results of their risk assessments. We think businesses will want to do this to help build the confidence of their workers and their customers. In order to help with this, the Government has provided a new notice which employers can display on their website to show they have followed the guidance on managing the risks of COVID-19.

Climate Change Convention

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions his Department has had with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP Bureau on agreeing a new date for the COP26 summit.

Kwasi Kwarteng: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



Dates for a rescheduled conference in 2021, hosted in Glasgow by the UK in partnership with Italy, will be set out in due course following further discussion with parties. Since the Bureau decision, the Government has been actively engaging with COP Bureau members, Group Chairs, Parties, representatives of Non-Party Stakeholders, our operational delivery partners and stakeholders in the wider climate community.

Maternity Leave: Coronavirus

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy extend statutory maternity leave until (a) nurseries and (b) childcare facilities have re-opened.

Paul Scully: The UK’s Maternity Leave offer is amongst the most generous in the World –up to 52 weeks of leave are available, 39 weeks of which are paid –and we currently have no plans to extend it. We understand the impacts that the pandemic and social distancing have on parents, especially where they are doing the difficult job of balancing work and childcare. This is a problem facing all parents and not just those with babies, we do not therefore, believe that extending maternity leave is the right way to address this. We have however, introduced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to support those who cannot work due to the current pandemic. The scheme allows individuals who cannot work due to childcare responsibilities to be furloughed by their employer, if both the employer and employee agree.

China General Nuclear Power Corporation

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations the Government has received from the US (a) Administration and (b) security agencies on the involvement of China General Nuclear Power Group in the UK civil nuclear sector.

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations the Government has received from (a) the US Administration and (b) US security agencies following their decision to add CGN to its entity list of blacklisted companies.

Nadhim Zahawi: The US is a close ally; we regularly discuss a range of issues with the US authorities. However, it would not be appropriate to comment publicly on the detail of these discussions.Nuclear security is a top priority for the UK Government. All investment involving critical infrastructure, including nuclear, is subject to thorough scrutiny and needs to satisfy our robust legal, regulatory, and national security requirements, which are world-leading. All civil nuclear operators are answerable to a robust and independent regulator – the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

China General Nuclear Power Corporation

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of potential effect of the Government's decision to limit the access of Huawei to the 5G network on the ongoing assessment by the Office for Nuclear Regulation of nuclear reactor design by CGN.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is an independent regulator; it is responsible for defining the principles that it will apply in performing its statutory duties. The ONR’s safety and security assessment principles reflect international relevant good practice in safety and security, and apply to the assessment of all reactors in the UK, whether in design, construction or operation. These principles have been published on the ONR’s website at: www.onr.org.uk.

Meat: Coronavirus

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to reduce the spread of covid-19 in meat packing businesses.

Paul Scully: On 11 May, we published guidance for businesses to help ensure workplaces are as safe as possible. This guidance covered a range of work environments including in factories, plants and warehouse which covers meat packing businesses and can be found at www.gov.uk/workingsafely.The published guidance sets out how businesses should carry out risk assessments and gives suggestions for practical steps they can consider to mitigate the risks identified related to COVID-19, including how to reduce the spread of the disease.If staff are concerned that an employer is not taking all practical steps to promote social distancing then they can report this to their local authority or the Health and Safety Executive who can take a range of action to improve control of workplace risks.These actions include the provision of specific advice to employers through to issuing enforcement notices to help secure improvements with the guidance.

Processed Food: Coronavirus

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to reduce the spread of covid-19 in food processing businesses.

Paul Scully: On 11 May, we published guidance for businesses to help ensure workplaces are as safe as possible. This guidance covered a range or work environments including in factories, plants and warehouse covering food processing businesses and can be found at www.gov.uk/workingsafely. The published guidance sets out how businesses should carry out risk assessments and suggestions for practical steps they can consider to mitigate the risks identified related to COVID-19, including how to reduce the spread of the disease. If a business is not operating in line with the Government guidance, there is a role for the relevant health and safety enforcing authority - the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or Local Authority. Where the enforcing authority identifies employers who are not taking action to comply with the relevant public health legislation and guidance to control public health risks, for example, employers not taking appropriate action to socially distance, the enforcing authority will consider taking a range of actions to improve control of workplace risks. These actions include the provision of specific advice to employers through to issuing enforcement notices to help secure improvements with the guidance.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons limited companies that have been trading for more than three years are excluded from the Bounce Back Loan Scheme on the grounds that their last annual accounts showed a loss greater than half of their share capital.

Paul Scully: It is not the case that limited companies that have been trading for more than three years, whose last annual accounts showed a loss greater than half of their share capital, are necessarily excluded from the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. The scheme is open to most businesses, regardless of turnover, who meet the eligibility criteria and who were established on or before 1 March 2020. As part of the application form, borrowers are required to declare either that the business was not a business in difficulty on 31 December 2019; or if it was a business in difficulty [on 31 December 2019], that the business does not breach de minimis State aid restrictions. A business in difficulty is also required to declare it does not meet the temporary framework aid limits. A business is considered in difficulty if it met any one of the following criteria on 31 December 2019:Individuals or companies that have entered into collective insolvency proceedings;Limited companies which have accumulated losses greater than half of their share capital in their last annual accounts (this does not apply to SMEs less than 3 years old);Partnerships, limited partnerships or unlimited liability companies which have accumulated losses greater than half of their capital in their latest annual accounts (this does not apply to SMEs less than 3 years old);Where the undertaking has received rescue aid and has not yet reimbursed the loan or terminated the guarantee, or has received restructuring aid and is still subject to a restructuring plan;A company which is not an SME where, for each of the last two accounting years: i) your book debt to equity ratio has been greater than 7.5; and ii) your EBITDA interest coverage ratio has been below 1.0.

Personal Care Services: Coronavirus

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department plans to issue to businesses in the beauty sector on health and safety standards in relation to the covid-19 outbreak.

Paul Scully: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out a roadmap to get the UK back to work in his speech on 11 May. Hairdressers and other beauty businesses remain closed in this phase because the risk of transmission in these environments is higher due to the indoor environment and closer physical contact. The ambition is to reopen these businesses as part of Step 3 of the roadmap and we will work with the beauty sector ahead of that to ensure that that the guidance supports hairdressers to work safely. This will add to the guidance already published by the Government which was developed with industry, unions, local government, Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive to support businesses that have been allowed to open during the pandemic.

Personal Care Services: Coronavirus

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure that workers in the beauty sector receive adequate supplies of personal protective equipment in order to re-open businesses.

Paul Scully: We continue to work with stakeholders on developing sensible guidance for businesses that will give UK workers the utmost confidence on their return to work.  We will now focus on sectors, such as the personal care sector, that are not currently open to help them plan for when they can open. The needs of staff in non-health and non-care settings are covered in the United Kingdom-wide Personal Protective Equipment Plan published on 10 April 2020. This provides clear guidance on who needs Personal Protective Equipment and in what circumstances they need to use it, and how sufficient supplies will be secured to manage the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan can be accessed on the following link:www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-personal-protective-equipment-ppe-plan.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

British Nationals Abroad: Coronavirus

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to repatriate UK travellers stranded in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Thailand and (c) Vietnam as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.

Nigel Adams: Holding answer received on 11 May 2020



We estimate that the numbers of UK travellers in Afghanistan is very low. We advise UK travellers wishing to return to the UK from Afghanistan to keep checking our travel advice, local media, and to contact local travel agents and airlines for the most up to date information on the resumption of regular flight operations. On Saturday 16 May, Qatar Airways will operate a one-off commercial flight from Kabul to Doha. We are still working through future plans, identifying where needs are greatest, and where charter flights will have the greatest impact on vulnerable British nationals overseas. We will continue to provide consular support to British nationals who remain in Afghanistan and require assistance.Commercial flights are still available to return to the UK from Thailand, with seats regularly available on flights from Bangkok to London. The Minister for Asia called the Thai Vice Foreign Minister on 24 April to press on UK priorities, including enabling British nationals to return to the UK.There also remain commercial options to return to the UK from Vietnam. We strongly advise British travellers in Vietnam to return by commercial means. We continue to work closely with airlines and foreign governments to ensure as many British travellers as possible can return on commercial flights.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Rushanara Ali: SUGGESTED REDRAFT: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to support Rohingya refugees stranded at sea in the Bay of Bengal. Original: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made on the Rohingya refugees currently still stranded at sea in the Bay of Bengal.

Nigel Adams: We continue to monitor the extremely concerning reports of hundreds of Rohingya still at sea in the Bay of Bengal. We continue to engage with the Government of Bangladesh, other countries in the region, UN agencies and the international community to support the safety and well-being of all Rohingya refugees. The UK supports the UN's call for a regional effort to ensure the safety of these vulnerable refugees.The Minister of State for South Asia, Lord Ahmad, has raised the issue of Rohingya refugees stranded at sea with the Bangladesh Foreign Minister and the Bangladesh High Commissioner in London, and the British High Commission in Dhaka have raised this matter with the Government of Bangladesh. Officials from the British Embassy in Bangkok have discussed with the Thai Government the importance of the provision of humanitarian assistance to Rohingyas aboard vessels that enter Thai waters. Our High Commission in Kuala Lumpur continues to raise our concerns about the situation of the Rohingya community with the Malaysian Government. We continue to urge the Governments of Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and other governments in the region to assist boats carrying Rohingya refugees to land. The UK is committed to protecting the Rohingya community, some of the world's most vulnerable people.

Infectious Diseases: Disease Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had at the United Nations on resolutions to prevent future pandemics.

Nigel Adams: The UK is leading with partners and allies to: support an effective and co-ordinated global health response led by the World Health Organisation, reinforce the resilience of vulnerable countries, pursue a vaccine, and support the global economy. The Foreign Secretary spoke to the UN Secretary-General on these priorities on 5 May. The UK is working together with international partners to achieve these objectives, including with the G7, G20, the UN and other multilateral institutions, in order to ensure a stronger institutional response to the current crisis, and greater resilience against future threats. Officials in Geneva and New York are in regular contact with the UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes on their contributions to the crisis response including future crisis preparedness. This included co-sponsoring a Mexican resolution in the General Assembly on access to medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Quarantine: Gibraltar

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, what discussion he has had with the Government of Gibraltar on 14 day quarantine restrictions for people arriving in the UK from that territory.

Wendy Morton: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



We are in regular contact with the Government of Gibraltar to discuss these measures.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to support Public Health England (PHE) to tackle covid-19; and what plans the Government has to use the facilities at the PHE Harlow site to tackle that virus.

Jo Churchill: In January, the Department formed a COVID-19 Incident Response Centre, bringing together a number of Government departments and arm’s length bodies including Public Health England (PHE). With the Department’s support PHE has reprioritised much of its other business. The Department is working closely with PHE to ensure it has the resources it needs to carry out its critical work on the pandemic response.In 2015 the Government confirmed £400 million of capital funding to proceed with development of the planned PHE science campus and headquarters in Harlow. Enabling work on site has started and the programme will progress subject to Full Programme Business Case approval later this year.

Protective Clothing and Ventilators: EU Action

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the European Commission on UK participation in the EU scheme for joint procurement of ventilators and protective equipment for medical staff.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 21 April 2020



The Government is working with industry, the National Health Service, social care providers and the army to ensure the supply of key medical equipment for the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak. Royal Mail and Amazon have also pledged to support with logistics. In addition, ministers and the Chief Medical Officer are working closely with counterparts in the devolved administrations to ensure an approach that works for the whole of the UK. We are in active discussions with the European Commission on future shared procurement opportunities and we will decide whether to participate in each on the basis of public health requirements at the time. We are exploring all procurement options for medical equipment and will give the NHS and the social care sector everything they need to tackle this outbreak.

Protective Clothing: Social Services

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much personal protective equipment stock was available for social care workers in each fortnight from 1 January 2020 to date; and what the composition of that stock was.

Jo Churchill: We are working around the clock to give the social care sector and wider National Health Service the equipment and support they need to tackle this outbreak.We have made over 68 million items of personal protective equipment (PPE) available to designated wholesalers for onward sale to social care providers and delivered a further 94 million items to local resilience forums (LRFs) between 6 April and 12 May to help them respond to urgent local spikes in need across the adult social care system and some other front-line services, where providers are unable to access PPE through their usual, or dedicated wholesaler routes.The full weight of the Government is behind this effort and we are working closely with industry, social care providers, the NHS, and the army to ensure the right equipment continues to be delivered.Information on how much personal protective equipment (PPE) stock was available for social care workers is not available centrally.

Health Services: Protective Clothing

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that potential shortages of personal protection equipment in primary care does not lead to an increase in patients attending secondary care.

Jo Churchill: We are working around the clock to give the social care sector and wider National Health Service the equipment and support they need to tackle this outbreak.The Government published ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): personal protective equipment (PPE) plan’ on 10 April. It incorporates guidance on who needs PPE and when they need it, routes to ensure those who need it can get it at the right time and sets out actions to secure enough PPE to last through the crisis.Sourcing sufficient supplies of PPE is a challenge that many countries are facing. We are working to expand supply from overseas, improve domestic manufacturing capability and expand and improve the logistics network for delivering to the front line.

Coronavirus: Industrial Diseases

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that people who die during the covid-19 outbreak and have underlying conditions as a result of (a) pneumoconiosis, (b) silicosis, (c) chronic bronchitis, (d) asbestosis and (e) other industrial diseases have their underlying cause of death recorded on their death certificate.

Ms Nadine Dorries: In response to the provisions in the Coronavirus Act 2020 in relation to death certification, General Registers Office/Home Office and Office for National Statistics published revised guidance to medical practitioners completing medical certificates cause of death (MCCD) for a period of emergency. Medical practitioners are expected to state the cause of death to the best of their knowledge and belief. This guidance confirms that COVID-19 is an acceptable direct or underlying cause of death for the purposes of completing the MCCD. The notification of death regulations 2019, 3(1)(ix) includes the requirement of notification to the coroner if the registered medical practitioner suspects that that the person’s death was due to an injury or disease attributable to any employment held by the person during the person’s lifetime.

Cancer: Health Services

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients with suspected cancer that are referred to a consultant by a GP for a phone or virtual consultation are (a) monitored and (b) receive follow-up contact in the event that the referral is not continued.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 04 May 2020



A letter was issued to trusts on 29 April detailing the Second Phase of Response to COVID-19, setting out that:“All NHS secondary care providers now have access to video consultation technology to deliver some clinical care without the need for in-person contact. As far as practicable, video or telephone appointments should be offered by default for all outpatient activity without a procedure, and unless there are clinical or patient choice reasons to change to replace with in-person contact. Trusts should use remote appointments - including video consultations - as a default to triage their elective backlog. They should implement a ‘patient initiated follow up’ approach for suitable appointments - providing patients the means of self-accessing services if required.”

Palliative Care: Learning Disability

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mechanisms are in place to monitor the use of Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders to ensure that those orders are not wrongfully applied; whether he has held discussions with providers of supported living and residential care for people with learning disabilities on the number of DNR orders issued during the covid-19 outbreak that are open to legal challenge; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Whately: We accept that in some circumstances do no attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions can protect patients from invasive treatments that have little or no chance of success and help to ensure that the patient can die with dignity.However, we are clear that it is completely unacceptable for such decisions to be applied in a blanket fashion to any group of people, or for a DNACPR decision to be put in place without appropriate consultation with the patient concerned, or their families and carers if the patient lacks capacity.We take this issue very seriously and have taken steps to remind all clinicians of their responsibilities in this regard. On 30 March, the Care Quality Commission, British Medical Association, Care Provider Alliance and Royal College of General Practitioners wrote to adult social care providers and general practitioner practices to set out their shared position on the importance of advance care planning being based on the needs of the individual. This statement is available at the following link:https://www.cqc.org.uk/news/stories/joint-statement-advance-care-planning.NHS England and Improvement have also written to the NHS regarding the appropriate use of do not attempt cardio pulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions for people with learning disabilities and other vulnerable groups. These letters are available at the following links:https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/04/C0166-Letter-DNACPR.pdfhttps://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/04/maintaining-standards-quality-of-care-pressurised-circumstances-7-april-2020.pdfThe number of individual DNACPR decisions is not reported centrally. We are working with the social care sector to understand their experiences of the wrongful application of DNACPR decisions and what further action may be needed to address inappropriate practices.

NHS: Coronavirus

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS staff deaths as a result of exposure in the workplace to covid-19 the Department has reported to the Health and Safety Executive under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.

Helen Whately: Holding answer received on 06 May 2020



The information is not held in the format requested.

Coronavirus: Travel

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the Government's guidance is on people (a) travelling  and (b) travelling a distance of over 10 miles to visit someone who is dying at home from a non-covid-19 terminal illness.

Helen Whately: Holding answer received on 06 May 2020



On 10 May, the Prime Minister released a statement explaining that everyone must stay at home wherever possible. People are allowed to leave home for limited purposes including medical need, such as caring for or supporting a vulnerable person. The Government has not set specific travel distance restrictions. On 13 May 2020, National Health Service England published guidance on visitors for patients at the end of life in all settings - healthcare inpatient settings, care homes, hospices and at home. The considerations assert the rights of the dying to see their loved ones and/or to receive religious support. For end of life care at home, it is the healthcare professional’s role to advise on minimising risk while allowing close family members or friends to accompany and say goodbye to their loved ones. Practical considerations include the number of visitors at the bedside is limited to one close family contact or somebody important to the dying person. However, where it is possible to maintain social distancing throughout the visit, a second additional visitor (including a child) could be permitted. The considerations aim to minimise risk of infection whilst allowing close family members or friends to accompany and say goodbye to their loved ones at the end of their life. This guidance applies to both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related illness.More information can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/03/C0393-clinical-guide-for-supporting-compassionate-visiting-arrangements-13-may-2020.pdf

Prescriptions: Pregnancy

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will extend the length of Maternity Exemption Certificates during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jo Churchill: The Government has no current plans to extend the period of maternity exemption certificates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of social distancing measures put in place due to the covid-19 outbreak on the future incidence and outcomes of vaccine preventable diseases which (a) are included and (b) not included in the UK National Immunisation Programme.

Jo Churchill: Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with regional commissioners to ensure that routine immunisations continue to be delivered in primary care settings to ensure those eligible are protected against a range of vaccine preventable diseases. General practices continue to offer routine vaccination services, using social distancing and personal protective equipment according to national guidelines. Programmes delivered through schools are currently on hold and will be rescheduled as schools open. PHE continues to promote the importance of routine immunisations particularly for children and those in clinical risk groups, for example through the Vaccine Update at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-update  Preliminary data indicates there has not been a significant reduction in the number of primary immunisation doses administered compared to the previous year, though there is some indication of a decrease in the first dose of measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations. These data can be viewed at the following link: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.07.20094557v1 The Government’s COVID-19 Action Plan has stated that everyone should ensure that they and their family’s vaccinations are up-to-date, as this will help to reduce any pressure on the National Health Service from vaccine-preventable diseases. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-action-plan/coronavirus-action-plan-a-guide-to-what-you-can-expect-across-the-uk  Immunisations outside of the UK National Immunisation Programme, such as those for travel and occupational health purposes, are unlikely to have a significant effect on public health due to these being primarily individual risks not population level risks.

Ovarian Cancer: Rother Valley

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Rother Valley constituency in 2019.

Jo Churchill: The 2019 cancer registration data are not yet available. It is due to be published in spring 2021.Data are not broken down by individual constituencies. There are a range of outputs which show data for national, clinical commissioning groups, local authority and local areas.

Hospitals: Patients

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that people discharged from hospital following treatment for covid-19 (a) have their nutrition and hydration needs met and (b) receive treatment for malnutrition and dysphagia.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure vulnerable people at risk of malnutrition receive appropriate nutrition support from community (a) dietitians and (b) other health professionals (i) during and (ii) after the covid-19 pandemic.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 11 May 2020



Some NHS services were temporarily suspended whilst we concentrated on dealing with COVID-19. Now, as a result of the measures put in place, we appear to have come through the peak of new cases being reported and it has been decided to begin the ‘reset’ of services across the National Health Service, including nutrition and dietary services. Decisions on how to do this will be taken locally, based on local demand. The NHS issued guidance to NHS service providers on 29 April outlining the next steps in the NHS response to COVID-19.The ongoing care and support a patient will require from the NHS and adult social care services is considered as part of the discharge process. This includes consideration of ongoing nutrition and hydration requirements as appropriate.

Epilepsy: Influenza

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will accept the recommendation of the Epilepsy Society to include epilepsy in the list of conditions eligible for a free flu vaccine.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 11 May 2020



Eligibility for influenza immunisation is based on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI is an independent departmental expert committee and a statutory body, which advises the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.In 2011 the JCVI considered the inclusion of epilepsy within the clinical risk categories for influenza vaccination and agreed that most individuals with epilepsy have the disease well controlled. Therefore, influenza does not disproportionately impact those with epilepsy compared with the healthy population. Individuals with severe neurological disability are at greater risk from influenza and may also have epilepsy and this group should be offered vaccination according to published guidance which is available to view at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/influenza-the-green-book-chapter-19Medical professionals are encouraged to consider individual patient circumstances and use clinical judgement to take into account the risk of influenza exacerbating any underlying disease or condition that any patient may have, as well as the risk of serious illness from influenza itself with vaccination offered in such cases.

Domestic Abuse: Telephone Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason national domestic violence helplines and not local services are promoted at covid-19 testing centres; and if he will review that policy to ensure that local services are also promoted.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Holding answer received on 11 May 2020



All testing sites in England are being provided with materials developed through the national #YouAreNotAlone campaign to raise awareness of domestic abuse and support services. Alongside national communications materials, we recognise the benefit of signposting to local services. Testing sites are already displaying posters provided by local partners, alongside #YouAreNotAlone materials. Local partners should contact their Regional Safeguarding Leads, if they would like to display posters.

Social Services: Coronavirus

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure (a) transparent monitoring of Care Act Easements so that there is a comprehensive record of all reduced or withdrawn packages of care and support during the covid-19 outbreak.

Helen Whately: Holding answer received on 11 May 2020



The Department is working with the Care Quality Commission and Think Local, Act Personal (TLAP) to understand the impact of the Care Act easements introduced by the Coronavirus Act 2020, which allow local authorities to prioritise care and support so that the most urgent and acute needs are met. This work includes conversations with local authorities. Recording by local authorities remains a priority and will help them to ensure accountability and provide evidence for the thought processes behind their decisions. This is stated in the Care Act easements guidance published on GOV.UK at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-changes-to-the-care-act-2014There is no requirement to share these internal records with the Department.

Hospitals: Travel

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that GPs do not charge patients for a letter to prove that they fall into the extremely vulnerable category in order for them to claim a refund under the terms of the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme for travel by taxi to their hospital appointments during the covid-19 outbreak.

Jo Churchill: Letters have been sent to patients identified as being at the highest risk of severe illness from COVID-19. They are advised that they should shield at home until at least the end of June. There should not be a charge for patients receiving letters informing them they have been identified as extremely vulnerable to COVID-19.

Babies: Pulse Oximetry

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to include pulse oximetry as an additional test to the Newborn and Infant Physical Examination programme.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Holding answer received on 12 May 2020



Ministers have accepted the United Kingdom National Screening Committee’s (UK NSC) recommendation from its November 2019 meeting, that further research is needed on the use of pulse oximetry (PO) as an additional test to understand the effect of screening on all babies, before a final recommendation can be made to add PO to the Newborn and Infant Physical Examination programme. Minutes from the UK NSC’s meeting can be viewed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-national-screening-committee-uk-nsc

Mental Health Services: Protective Clothing

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued on the use of personal protective equipment in mental health trusts.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 12 May 2020



The overall infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance applies to any healthcare setting, including services provided by mental health trusts in both mental health inpatient units and outpatient settings. It is available to view at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/881489/COVID-19_Infection_prevention_and_control_guidance_complete.pdfThe recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) guidance for mental health inpatient settings is outlined in the IPC guidance, and the guidance for outpatient/community settings including mental health can be viewed at the following links: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/879107/T1_poster_Recommended_PPE_for_healthcare_workers_by_secondary_care_clinical_context.pdfhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/878750/T2_poster_Recommended_PPE_for_primary__outpatient__community_and_social_care_by_setting.pdfOther PPE guidance such as putting on and taking off PPE is applicable for all health and care workers, in health and social care settings. This guidance can be seen at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-personal-protective-equipment-use-for-non-aerosol-generating-procedures

Flour: Folic Acid

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Government will publish a response to the consultation on the fortification of flour with folic acid; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



Further to the answer I gave on 4 February 2020 to Question 10331, we can confirm that no further progress has been made on publishing a response to the consultation due to COVID-19 pressures taking precedence. We cannot yet give an indication when the response will be published, but we will return to it, in conjunction with the devolved administrations, in due course.

Blood Cancer: Medical Treatments

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2020 to Question 40579, on Blood Cancer: Medical Treatments, how many people with blood cancer have had a stem cell transplant in each of the last six months for which data is available.

Jo Churchill: NHS England and NHS Improvement do not collect data for the number of haematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT) by condition.

General Practitioners: Assessments

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to hold discussions with representatives of the Royal College of General Practitioners in respect of the cancellation of the (a) applied knowledge test and (b) clinical skills assessment as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Jo Churchill: The Department is working closely with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and the four statutory education bodies to support development of solution for trainees who have had their examinations cancelled as a result of COVID-19.The RCGP is working with its testing partner to enable the Applied Knowledge Test to resume at test centres with appropriate social distancing safeguards in place from July and are investigating options for remote invigilation for those who are shielding.The RCGP and GP training educators are rapidly developing a temporary recorded alternative to the Clinical Skills Assessment (subject to approval by the General Medical Council).The RCGP has committed to continue to share details of the developments with affected trainees as they progress.

Locums: Coronavirus

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to encourage locum doctors to work more hours during the covid-19 oubreak; and whether he has reviewed death in service benefits for locum doctors since the start of that outbreak.

Jo Churchill: The National Health Service has mobilised a large number of clinical and non-clinical staff, both retired and who normally work in the private sector, to ensure sufficient supply of medical staff to manage the challenges that this pandemic has created for the NHS.In addition, the NHS has a robust temporary staffing supply chain to ensure it can bring in the right people at the right time to deal with fluctuations in demand.In general practice, general practitioner (GP) locums as well as returners and substantive GPs wishing to increase their hours are providing additional patient care within the NHS 111 COVID-19 Clinical Assessment Services.The NHS Pension Scheme provides good quality death in service benefits to all members. The Secretary of State recently announced a new life assurance scheme for frontline health and social care staff who contract COVID-19 during the course of their work. The scheme is non-contributory and pays a £60,000 lump sum where staff die as a result of COVID-19 and had been recently working in frontline roles and locations where personal care is provided to individuals who have contracted COVID-19.

Ovarian Cancer: Diagnosis

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to shorten the diagnostic pathway for ovarian cancer; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



The NHS Long Term Plan sets out an ambition that, by 2028, the proportion of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 will rise from around half to three-quartersof cancer patients. Other key actions to increase an early diagnosis of ovarian cancer are:- roll out of faster diagnosis standard will ensure that patients who are referred for the investigation of suspected cancer find out within 28 days if they do or do not have a cancer diagnosis;- new Rapid Diagnostic Centres will bring together diagnostic equipment and expertise to streamline diagnostic services for cancer;- campaigns to raise greater awareness of the symptoms of cancer; and- lowering the threshold for referral by general practitioners (GPs). As the National Health Service responds to COVID-19, we are encouraging anybody with symptoms that could be indicative of cancer to continue to contact their GP. GPs will continue to refer so that patients can be managed appropriately, and NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with Cancer Alliances to ensure diagnostic services are available to carry out the necessary investigations.

Health Professions: Re-employment

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many retired medical professionals have had their licence to practise temporarily restored by the General Medical Council during the covid-19 outbreak; and how many of those medical professionals have returned to work in the NHS.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many retired medical professionals have had their licence to practice temporarily restored by the General Medical Council during the covid-19 outbreak; and how many of those professionals are currently working.

Helen Whately: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



As of 6 May, the General Medical Council has added 28,820 medical practitioners to the register to support the Government’s response to the COVID-19 epidemic. This includes, but is not limited to, retired medical practitioners.As of 7 May, more than 40,600 individuals across a number of healthcare professions have contacted NHS England to return to practice, including over 16,700 medical practitioners. Over 10,700 of these professionals have been allocated to National Health Service trusts or 111 services.

General Practitioners

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 May 2020 to Question 40964, on General Practitioners, whether receptionists in GP practices are required to ask a GP or other healthcare worker to assess whether the treatment requested is regarded as an emergency or immediately necessary; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



NHS England and NHS Improvement have advised all general practitioner (GP) practices to move to a total triage model to protect patients and staff from avoidable risks of infection from COVID-19. This model enables practices to ensure that the most appropriate member of staff can respond to requests from patients and that urgent requests can be managed as a priority. Any request that requires a clinical view will be referred to either a GP or another member of the clinical team to be followed up, this might be via a phone call, a video call or a face to face appointment.

Social Services: Life Insurance

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 May 2020 to Question 41082 on Social Services: Life Insurance, what proportion of social care staff work for adult social care providers in receipt of public funding.

Helen Whately: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



The Life Assurance Scheme has now been launched, and the published legal rules outline revised eligibility criteria for employees in the social care sector. All employees in adult social care providers registered with CQC will now be eligible for the payment, regardless of their funding status. This means the group of staff referred to in the question will be eligible for the scheme if they meet other criteria.A minority of adult social care providers receive no public funding, and we estimate that fewer than ten per cent of workers are employed by providers in this category.

Vitamin B12

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has for the recommencement of B12 injections at GP practices.

Jo Churchill: Approaches to management of B12 injections during the pandemic are a local matter.The British Committee for Standards in Haematology (BCSH), which operates independently of Department and NHS England and produces evidence-based guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of haematological disease, has published a range of general and specific haematology guidance for clinicians in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes new guidance on the management of both dietary and non-dietary B12 deficiency. On B12 injections the BCSH guidance recommends that screening questions for COVID-19 infection are asked before patients attend their general practitioner (GP) surgeries. Alternatives to attending the GP surgery such as local pharmacies or home administration by district nurses should be explored. The guidance can be found at the following link:b-s-h.org.uk/media/18259/bsh-guidance-b12-replacement-covid-1924042020finalversion2020-4-3.pdf

Care Homes: Protective Clothing

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance the Government has provided to care homes on the (a) suitability and (b) availability of personal protective equipment.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance the Government has  issued to care homes on mitigating the risk of staff coming into contact with residents who have tested positive for covid-19.

Helen Whately: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



Supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the care sector are fundamental for both the good care of individuals with suspected symptoms of COVID-19 and equally vital to protect the care workers in the social care settings.To address this, the Government has stepped up support, supply and distribution of PPE to the care sector. As of 8 May, we have released 60.9 million items of PPE to designated wholesalers for onward sale to social care providers. In addition, between 6 April and 12 May, we have delivered over 94 million items of PPE across 38 Local Resilience Forums to respond to spikes in need.Working with care sector representative bodies, PHE published tailored guidance ‘COVID-19 How to work safely in care homes’ on 17 April, as well as a specialised training video demonstrating the donning and doffing of PPE in care home settings. The PHE guidance also provides tables on when and which PPE to use.

Social Services: Recruitment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to address the shortage of adult social care workers.

Helen Whately: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



The Government’s Action Plan for Adult Social Care published on 15 April sets out our ambition to increase the social care workforce. This includes a national recruitment campaign in England, launched on 23 April, highlighting the vital role of the social care workforce during this pandemic and the longer-term opportunities for working in care.We are also developing a new online recruitment platform which will give people wanting to work in social care the opportunity to be considered for multiple job opportunities and help employers to recruit people quickly. This includes access to free online induction training with training providers endorsed by Skills for Care. To further enable quick recruitment, we are also temporarily providing free-of-charge Disclosure and Barring Service applications and fast-track Barred List checks for many of our vital social care roles.

Pharmacy: Coronavirus

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to provide (a) PPE and (b) home testing kits for pharmacy staff.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



There are around 11,500 community pharmacies in England, and deliveries of personal protective equipment (PPE) packs were made in March. Further, supplies of PPE have been distributed to wholesalers and distributor networks supplying community pharmacies.Where there remains an urgent need for additional PPE stock, community pharmacies should contact their Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) who can provide supplies to respond to local spikes in need. For those who are critically short of PPE, they should phone the National Supply Distribution Response for an urgent delivery. We will continue to work in ensuring that community pharmacies have access to PPE.Symptomatic pharmacy staff, or symptomatic member(s) of their household, are eligible for testing through the self-referral online portal where they are able to order home delivery testing kits. The online portal and further information on those eligible for testing is available at the following links:https://www.gov.uk/apply-coronavirus-testhttps://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested

Care Homes: General Practitioners

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that care home residents have adequate access GP services.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



On 1 May clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were asked to take immediate steps to implement the delivery of consistent weekly care home ‘check ins’, carried out remotely wherever appropriate, in order to review patients identified as a clinical priority for assessment and care, drawing on general practice and community services staff. These check ins should include appropriate and consistent medical oversight and input from a general practitioner and/or geriatrician.On 14 May we published the care home support package which focuses on how to prevent and control COVID-19 in all registered care homes. To support this, on 13 May we announced an additional £600 million to support providers through a new Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund.

Hospitals: Admissions

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish the number of patients admitted to hospitals from care homes on (a) a weekly basis from 1 February 2020 to date and (b) the weekly average for admissions for the same time period for each year between 2015 and 2019.

Edward Argar: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



Information is not available in the format requested.

Mental Health Services: Coronavirus

Anthony Mangnall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to provide mental health support to people who are living alone during the covid-19 outbreak.

Ms Nadine Dorries: On 22 April 2020, the Government announced a guaranteed £5 million boost for national loneliness organisations to help them continue and adapt their work to ensure that staying at home does not lead to loneliness. A number of charities, businesses and public figures will join the Government’s ‘Tackling Loneliness Network’ to help connect those at risk of isolation. Volunteers from the NHS Volunteer Responder programme are also available to support people isolating at home, including making regular check in and chat phone calls.Mental health services remain open and are working around the clock to support people. We have published official guidance on mental health and wellbeing on GOV.UK and are promoting this through Every Mind Matters. For those with severe needs or in crisis, NHS England has instructed all National Health Service mental health trusts to establish 24 hours a day, seven days a week mental health crisis lines.

Department for International Development

Coronavirus: Medical Equipment

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with international (a) organisations and (b) multilaterals on international co-ordination mechanisms and strategies to help ensure equitable access to covid-19 medical products and technologies for low and middle income countries in the last month.

Wendy Morton: The UK is at the forefront of global efforts to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments, including for low-income countries. The Secretary of State speaks regularly with international and multilateral organisations on these issues, including the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus, the WHO Vaccines Special Envoy, Sir Andrew Witty, and the head of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Dr Seth Berkley, to name a few. Our officials also regularly speak with organisations leading the international response.The UK is active in international collaboration and a leading funder for the COVID-19 global response. We co-led the Coronavirus Global Response Initiative event on 4 May, at which 7.4 billion Euros were pledged. The Prime Minister took part by video message, calling for global collaboration to rapidly develop a vaccine, ensuring availability for everyone who needs it. The UK supports the Action for COVID-19 Tools Accelerator. The UK's First Secretary of State participated in its launch by WHO on 24 April. We have committed over £313 million of UK aid to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, the Wellcome Therapeutics Accelerator and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, supporting equitable access to COVID-19 medical technologies.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she has taken to help ensure global co-operation on increasing public covid-19 vaccine production capacity.

Wendy Morton: The UK is at the forefront of global efforts to ensure equitable access to potential COVID-19 vaccines. We need unprecedented global collaboration and resourcing to drive the speed and scale needed. That is why the Prime Minister joined G20 Leaders on 26 March and called on governments to work together to develop a vaccine as quickly as possible and make it available to anyone who needs it.The UK supports the Action for COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator launched by the World Health Organization on 24 April, which the UK's First Secretary of State participated in. The ACT Accelerator is a global call to action to accelerate the development, production and equitable access to new COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. On 4 May the Prime Minister joined world leaders at the Coronavirus Global Response Pledging Conference in calling for truly global collaboration in ensuring everyone around the world can access new coronavirus vaccines, treatments and tests when they are developed.We have committed £250 million of UK aid to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations for the development of a coronavirus vaccine - the largest contribution of any country. This, alongside our £1.65 billion pledge to GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, will support the development, manufacture and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests for people in the Global South.

Overseas Aid: Coronavirus

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will take further steps to allocate Official Development Assistance funding to support research and development of covid-19 (a) diagnostics, (b) treatments, and (c) vaccines.

Wendy Morton: The UK is at the forefront of global research focussed on the development of potential COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and diagnostics, and is already providing Official Development Assistance to key organisations central to the global response. The UK co-led a successful pledging event on 4 May that raised 7.4 billion Euros for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and testing, and we are hosting the Global Vaccines Summit on 4 June.We have committed over £313 million of UK aid towards research to develop potential vaccines through the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, for treatments through the Wellcome Therapeutics Accelerator, and for diagnostic tests through the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics. In addition, on 29 April, we pledged a total of £1.65 billion over 5 years to GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, to support the development, manufacture and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. We will continue to review the need for further development assistance as the pandemic progresses.

Department for Education

Children: Computers

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Government's laptop loan scheme for vulnerable or disadvantaged secondary age children to all school age children without access to a home device.

Nick Gibb: The Government has committed over £100 million to support remote education, including by providing laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers to disadvantaged and vulnerable children.We have considered the needs of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children and will ensure they get the support they need. The Department is providing laptops and tablets to disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examinations in year 10, those receiving support from a social worker, including pre-school children, or are a care leaver.We are supporting schools and children of all ages in a number of ways, including those without access to devices. For example, schools can draw on support from the BBC which is broadcasting lessons on television. Some of the BBC educational content is offline, via the red button, which disadvantaged pupils without digital devices or connectivity will still be able to access.Schools may also choose to draw on the many resources offers which have been made by publishers across the country. To complement resources that schools have made available to their pupils – both online and in hard copy - the Department has published an initial list of high quality online educational resources, which have been identified by some of the country’s leading educational experts to help pupils to learn at home. This list can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-online-education-resources.

Bus Services: Schools

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to provide schools with more buses to enforce social distancing when schools re-open after the covid-19 outbreak.

Nick Gibb: Parents and children and young people should be encouraged to walk or cycle where possible, and avoid public transport at peak times.Home to school transport provided or organised by schools, academy trusts or local authorities varies widely. Schools, trusts and local authorities should work together and with relevant transport providers to put in place arrangements which fit the local circumstances, including the measures being put in place to reduce contact. Further guidance is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settingsThis guidance sets out that local authorities or transport providers could consider the following: guidance or training for school transport colleaguessubstituting smaller vehicles with larger ones, or running 2 vehicles rather than one, where possible, to reduce the number of passengers per vehicle and increase the amount of space between passengerscordoning off seats and eliminating face-to-face seating, where vehicle capacity allows, to help passengers spread out

Assessments: Coronavirus

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to allow schools to re-allocate expenditure on examinations to online learning resources due to the cancellation of examinations due to the covid-19 outbreak.

Nick Gibb: The Government recognises that schools and colleges want clarity on exam fees following the cancellation of this summer’s exams. The Department for Education and the exam boards are working together to ensure that schools and colleges are provided with further information as soon as possible. The exam boards are looking at the costs that will be saved this summer, alongside new work they need to undertake to gather centre assessment grades and provide calculated grades to students. Schools and colleges will continue to receive their budgets for the coming year, regardless of any periods of partial or complete closure. This will ensure that they are able to continue to meet their regular financial commitments. We expect schools and colleges to pay any due invoices for exams, as the process is worked through. The Department is committed to ensuring that students can continue to learn at home in these very difficult circumstances. We recognise that many schools and colleges have already shared resources for students who are at home, and we have issued guidance for schools and colleges which signposts to an initial list of free online resources identified by educational experts and teachers. Leading state schools have collaborated to open The Oak National Academy, which was launched online on 20 April 2020. This free initiative is led by 40 teachers who have assembled video lessons and resources for any teacher in the country to make use of if they wish to do so. 180 video lessons will be provided each week, across a broad range of subjects, for every year group from reception through to year 10. In addition, the BBC has developed resources for families as part of a comprehensive new education package, which is now available on television and online at BBC Bitesize. We have also committed over £100 million to boost remote education, including giving free laptops and tablets to children from disadvantaged backgrounds across England, care leavers and those with a social worker, to help them learn from home during the lockdown. Additionally, if families of these children do not have good access to the internet, we will provide them with 4G routers so that these children can learn online and access social care services. The Department will also ensure that every school and college that wants it has access to free, expert technical support to get set up on Google for Education or Microsoft’s Office 365 Education.

Children: Social Services and Special Educational Needs

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has undertaken a Children’s Rights Impact Assessment for recent changes to the regulations for (a) children’s social care and (b) children’s SEND provision.

Vicky Ford: A Children’s Rights Impact Assessment was undertaken for the recent changes to the regulations for children’s social care but not for the recent changes to the regulations for children’s special education needs and disabilities (SEND) provision. An Equality Impact Assessment was also conducted for both.The potential impact on children and young people was a key factor in deciding what temporary changes to legislation would be appropriate. Both sets of regulations include a range of safeguards to limit any adverse impact, such as the Secretary of State for Education being under a duty to keep the effect of the legislative changes under review.

Pupil Exclusions

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to prevent children who were excluded from school just before school closures in March 2020 being exploited by criminals.

Vicky Ford: As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.Our latest guidance is set out below:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings.This includes specific guidance for education settings (including alternative provision settings) and local authorities about children supported through social care, with education, health and care plans or identified as vulnerable by their school or local authority and who are therefore in need of continued education provision.In addition, the Home Office is working closely with other government departments to allocate a proportion of the £750 million funding for charities announced by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer last month. This includes a total of £34.15 million in emergency support for charities helping vulnerable children who have been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak (this includes funds distributed by the Home Office and the Department for Education).The Home Office has invested £70 million into Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) to help tackle serious violence in the 18 worst affected areas. VRUs are non-statutory partnerships which offer leadership and strategic coordination of the local response to serious violence by bringing together police, local government, health and education professionals, community leaders and other key partners to identify the drivers of serious violence and agree a multi-agency response to them. Across VRUs there are a total of 26 educational interventions planned for the 2020/21 financial year, however, due to COVID-19 VRUs instead have mobilised new virtual interventions to ensure activity is still underway despite school closures and social distancing.In response to COVID-19, on 6 May the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) launched a £6.5 million fund to support vulnerable young people at risk of youth violence, particularly through finding the best ways to reach and support them under the current social distancing guidelines. The objective of the YEF is to prevent children and young people at the highest risk of involvement in serious violence, from becoming involved in crime and violence, including reoffending.The £13 million Trusted Relationships Fund (2018 – 2022) funds 11 different local authorities across England delivering innovative approaches to supporting children and young people aged 10 to 17 at risk of child sexual exploitation or abuse, criminal exploitation and peer on peer abuse. Restrictions associated with the response to COVID-19 have meant that local authorities have had to adapt their projects, introducing phone or video-based mentoring sessions, online support and group based social activities.The Department for Education is also funding a £2 million Tackling Child Exploitation support programme to help safeguarding partners in local areas develop an effective response to extra-familial harms such as child sexual and child criminal exploitation. The programme has facilitated some interactive online discussions recently to explore the implications of COVID-19 on young people facing exploitation and external threats.This government is also investing £20 million this year to crack down on the county lines gangs who are exploiting our children and having a devastating impact on our communities. This includes investment to significantly uplift the law enforcement response to county lines, develop several wider national capabilities and increase specialist support for young people and their families who are affected by county lines exploitation.These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

GCSE: Coronavirus

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking with education and skills providers to develop materials for year 11 pupils due to take GCSE examinations in summer 2020 to prepare those pupils for their post-16 education and training after the covid-19 outbreak.

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking with education and skills providers to develop materials for year 13 pupils due to take examinations in summer 2020 to prepare those students for (a) university education, (b) vocational based training and (c) entry to the employment market.

Nick Gibb: From Friday 20 March, all educational settings were closed to everyone except the children of critical workers and vulnerable children. Therefore, exams for summer 2020 have been cancelled. Year 11 and year 13 students who were due to sit A level, AS level or GCSE exams this summer will receive a calculated grade in August, and separate guidance from Ofqual on awarding GCSE, AS and A levels was published in April. The guidance makes clear that there is no requirement for schools and colleges to set additional mock exams or remote education tasks for the purposes of determining a calculated grade, and no student should be disadvantaged if they are unable to complete any work set after schools and colleges were closed. In relation to vocational or technical qualifications (VTQs), our priority is to ensure that students can move on as planned to the next stage of their lives, including starting university, college or sixth form courses, apprenticeships in the autumn, getting a job or progressing in work. Ofqual published a consultation on its proposed measures for the assessment and awarding of VTQs on 24 April and this closed 8 May. A response will be published shortly. In terms of support and materials for the next stage of their education, we have taken action to make sure students that can still access high quality careers information, advice and guidance. In particular, the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) continues to support schools and colleges to provide young people and their parents with careers education and guidance, working with the network of local partners and providers across the country. The CEC is collating and disseminating existing ideas and resources that can be used by schools, colleges and students while pupils are working remotely. In the longer term, they are considering ways they can continue to deliver the CEC mission of (virtually) connecting schools, colleges, young people, employers and training providers. The National Careers Service (NCS) is also continuing to provide careers information, advice and guidance to young people, their parents and adults through its helpline, website and web chat facility. The NCS is also supporting the delivery of the online Skills Toolkit. This is a new online platform which aims to give people easy access to free, high quality digital and numeracy courses to help them improve their skills, progress in work and raise their job prospects. We are also investigating with colleges and other further education (FE) providers what further practical support might be offered to those students leaving FE, particularly regarding careers advice and employment.

Schools: Rother Valley

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in Rother Valley constituency were rated (a) good and (b) outstanding by Ofsted at their most recent inspection.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to my hon. Friend, the Member for Rother Valley directly and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Foster Care: Coronavirus

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what safeguards are in place to ensure that people that apply to be foster carers during the covid-19 outbreak are (a) vetted and (b) trained to ensure the safety of the children in their care.

Vicky Ford: The Fostering Services Regulations 2011 provide a regulatory framework for fostering agencies and local authority fostering services for how they should deliver their functions. The regulations set out the information that fostering service providers must gather about prospective foster carers in order to satisfy themselves of an individual’s suitability to foster. This includes background, health, relationships and criminal checks, for example. It is for these providers to determine how they assess and approve their foster carers locally, within the regulations. The regulations are available here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/581/contents/made.We recognise that fostering services may want to bring in more foster carers to help build capacity within their services in case of additional demand at this time. In order to assist fostering providers to do this, we have amended parts of the regulatory framework, as described in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020, which are available here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/445/pdfs/uksiem_20200445_en.pdf.These allow different parts of the assessment to be undertaken simultaneously, avoiding unnecessary delays. However, the information required in assessing potential foster carers has not been changed nor have the expectations around the preparation of approved foster carers, prior to their first placement.

Erasmus+ Programme

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Erasmus+ (b) relationships and (b) funding are maintained during the transition period.

Michelle Donelan: Under the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated with the EU, the UK will continue to participate fully in the current (2014-20) Erasmus+ programme.This means that beneficiaries can continue to maintain relationships with international partners and that the projects that were successfully bid for during the current programmes will continue to receive EU funding for the full duration of the project. This includes projects where funding runs beyond 2020 and the end of the transition period.We continue to work closely with the sector and the UK National Agency, which is responsible for the management and delivery of the programme across the UK, to support the UK’s participation under the current programme.

Schools: Coronavirus

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with school leaders on the timeline for reopening schools in England during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nick Gibb: The Department has worked closely with the sector throughout the period of school closures in preparation for reopening. There continues to be extensive engagement with teaching unions and other school stakeholder organisations both at a ministerial and official level.

Children: Coronavirus

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason children in reception, Year 1 and Year 6 will be the first to return to school in response to the easing of the covid-19 lockdown measures.

Nick Gibb: From the week commencing 1 June at the earliest, we will be asking primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, reception, year 1 and year 6, alongside priority groups. The rationale for identifying these year groups is included in guidance for schools and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June 2020:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020/actions-for-education-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020. The three year groups within mainstream primary have been prioritised because they are key transition years – children in reception and year 1 are at the very beginning of their school career and are mastering the essential basics, including counting and the fundamentals of reading and writing, and learning to socialise with their peers. Year 6 children are finishing Key Stage 2 and are preparing for the transition to secondary school, and will benefit immensely from time with their friends and teachers to ensure they are ready.We will prioritise younger children in the first phases of wider opening, for several reasons. Firstly, because there is moderately high scientific confidence in evidence suggesting younger children are less likely to become unwell if infected with COVID-19; and secondly because evidence shows the particularly detrimental impact which time spent out of education can have upon them. In addition, older children are more likely to have higher numbers of contacts outside of school so pose a greater transmission risk, and they are typically better able to learn at home.Our approach is in line with other countries across Europe, who have begun to bring pre-school and school-age children back in a phased way and are focusing on primary schools and younger children.

Higher Education: Foreign Students

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to work with the higher education sector to attract international students to (a) creative and (b) specialist universities in the UK in the next academic year.

Michelle Donelan: The government continues to recognise the huge value, both culturally and socially as well as economically, that international students bring to higher education in the UK. We recognise that the COVID-19 outbreak will have an unparalleled impact on all elements of the global and UK economy. The higher education sector, including student recruitment, is no exception.We have been working closely with the whole sector, including representatives of smaller and specialist higher education providers, to monitor the likely impacts of COVID-19 on international student recruitment. We understand that the COVID-19 outbreak and a possible reduction in the number of international students poses significant challenges. We stand ready to help the sector, including creative and specialist institutions, with various mitigations.The government is working to ensure that existing rules and regulations, including visa regulations, are as flexible as possible for international students under these unprecedented circumstances. The latest visa guidance for students includes English language workarounds that will also benefit smaller and specialist higher education providers and providers of pre-sessional courses. Higher education providers are encouraged to be flexible in accommodating applicants’ circumstances where possible, including if applicants are unable to travel to the UK in time for the start of the academic year.The government has also committed to publish a review of the International Education Strategy this autumn, which will respond to the new context and the challenges that are posed by COVID-19 across all education settings. We look forward to continuing to welcome international students in the future - they are one of the reasons why our higher education sector remains world-class.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners: Coronavirus

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners have died of covid-19.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many confirmed cases of covid-19 there are in the UK’s prison population by region as at 7 May 2020.

Lucy Frazer: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service is containing the spread of COVID-19 within prisons using an approach known as ‘compartmentalisation’. Through this approach, staff have isolated those with symptoms, and many prisons have been able to shield the vulnerable and quarantine new arrivals.The table below details the number of self-reported confirmed cases of COVID-19 amongst the prison population broken down by region. The data in this table is correct as of Thursday 7 May.However, it should be noted that this is recently collected management information and as yet subject to verification; figures may change at a later date in future statistical publications.RegionConfirmed casesCumbria & Lancashire; Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire65Yorkshire; Tees and Wear38North Midlands; West Midlands; East Midlands90Avon and South Dorset; South Central; Devon and North Dorset17Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk; Hertfordshire, Essex and Suffolk12London; Kent, Surrey and Sussex48Wales80Long Term and High Security Estate52TOTAL402Sadly, as of Friday 15 May, 21 prisoners have died having tested positive for COVID-19.

Prison Service: Coronavirus

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison service staff have died of covid-19.

Lucy Frazer: Our prison staff are hidden heroes and I applaud their bravery and resolute commitment to public service. We are working hard to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the prison system as part of the national plan to protect the NHS and save lives. In our prisons and in the community, we are implementing a range of measures to reduce the spread of the transmission of the virus and the numbers of lives sadly lost. As of 8 May, seven prison staff are confirmed to have died having tested positive for COVID-19.

Prison Service and Prisoners: Coronavirus

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prison service staff and (b) prisoners have had a test for covid-19.

Lucy Frazer: NHS England and Improvement is solely responsible for testing for COVID-19 both in the community and in secure settings. As such, we do not hold data on staff and prisoner testing. On 24 April, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced the rollout of COVID-19 testing for all essential workers and symptomatic members of their household, including prison staff, those working in Approved Premises (APs) and probation staff (including private sector service providers) in England. We have referred over 3,000 HMPPS staff for testing to date. In Wales, testing for prison, AP and probation staff and symptomatic members of their household is being delivered through local resilience forum arrangements and through local health boards. For prisoners, tests will be conducted on symptomatic individuals on site. The testing capacity and availability can vary between establishments, depending on local circumstances at the time.

Prisons: Coronavirus

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether personal protective equipment is being provided to all prison workers during the covid-19 outbreak.

Lucy Frazer: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is committed to maintaining social distancing to protect staff and those in our care from COVID-19. In situations where social distancing is not possible, safe operating procedures have been developed in line with public health advice. These identify the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) items required in each situation and how they should be used. Further information about how we are protecting staff and prisoners during this time can be found in the following publication: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/882622/covid-19-population-management-strategy-prisons.pdf

Prisons: Coronavirus

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the vulnerability of the prison population to covid-19 taking into account factors such as (a) age, (b) pre-existing health conditions and (c) access to healthcare; and what steps his Department has taken to mitigate that risk.

Lucy Frazer: HMPPS continues to work very closely with Public Health England (PHE), Public Health Wales (PHW) and the NHS to consider the vulnerability of the prison population to the potential impact of COVID-19. Factors considered include the age profile and prevalence of existing medical conditions across the population. In view of this, in line with PHE guidance, we are implementing a strategy of compartmentalisation in prisons: isolating the symptomatic, shielding the vulnerable (including the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions) and quarantining new arrivals in reverse cohorting units. Modelling by PHE suggests this strategy and has shown early signs of success in limiting deaths and the transmission of the COVID-19 within the estate.

Marriage: Coronavirus

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to extend the marriage licence while weddings are unable to take place during the covid-19 outbreak.

Alex Chalk: The Government understands the frustration couples planning a wedding must be feeling at this time. We are exploring what changes might be possible and realistic in line with Public Health England’s guidance on social distancing. As with all coronavirus restrictions we will look to ease them as soon as it is safe to do so.

Prisoners: Sexual Offences

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many sexual assaults were committed on the prison estate by male-born prisoners who identify as women in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Lucy Frazer: Between 1 January and 31 December 2019, amongst the transgender people in custody who were born, and remain, legally male but self-identified as female there was the following involvement in sexual assaults:There was 1 sexual assault where someone who identified in this way was recorded as the assailant or suspected assailant;There was 1 sexual assault where someone who identified in this way was recorded as a ‘fighter’ i.e. assault incidents in which there is no clear aggressor or victim; andThere were 11 sexual assaults where someone who identified in this way was recorded as the victim of the sexual assault.All of these assaults occurred in the male estate. All sexual assaults in prison are referred to the police and HMPPS have strong safeguards in place to manage risks to all those in custody, regardless of their gender.HMPPS has robust processes in place to care for and manage transgender individuals in custody. The safety of all those in our care is of paramount importance. All known risks, both towards or presented by a transgender person in prison, will always be taken into account in their care and management. Individuals will be cared for and managed in the gender with which they identify, regardless of their location in a male or female prison.An article in the Mail on Sunday on 10 May stated that the seven sexual assaults carried out by transgender prisoners between 2010 and 2018 in the women’s prison estate were by ‘trans women’ i.e. individuals who were born legally male but self-identified as female. This could not have been assumed from the data provided in response to that enquiry which covered the general definition of transgender, which includes not just those who were born male, but also, for example, those born as female who now identify as men, non-binary and intersex people.Details of transgender prisoners were provided by public and private prisons in England and Wales, between 26 March 2019 and 24 April 2019 following an exercise to gather information from transgender individuals in custody. The figures give an estimate of the number of transgender prisoners based on that exercise and may underestimate the true number. Prisoners who have a full Gender Recognition Certificate are excluded from this dataset. Details of individuals who were identified within that dataset as having been born, and who remain, legally male but self-identified as female have been matched to the Incident Reporting System to provide the details of assaults in this response.

Probate: Coronavirus

Tom Tugendhat: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department has issued to HMRC on the treatment of probate applications that are unable to be submitted within the statutory six month period as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Chris Philp: There are no statutory deadlines for making probate applications, therefore the Department has issued no guidance to HMRC as it would not be appropriate. Completing inheritance tax assessment and payment is a necessary part of the process for applying for probate. While HMRC determine the policy on deadlines for inheritance tax calculation and payment in line with that legal framework, they will consider it to be within the scope of a reasonable excuse and grounds for appeal against any late filing penalties should a customer be unable to file their Inheritance tax return on time because of impacts from COVID-19.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Staff

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of (a) directly and (b) non-directly employed HMCTS staff are currently (i) working from home, (ii) furloughed or (iii) attending the workplace, by grade; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: Our workforce is working in exceptional circumstances to keep the justice system running. We are committed to supporting our key worker staff by enabling them to work from home, work flexible hours or maintain social distancing in a physical location. HMCTS has 18,973 staff (including permanent, Fixed Term Contract and Agency and Contractors) of which, as at 13 May 2020 a) the number of directly employed staff in HMCTS who are furloughed is Zero (i) 5293 staff (28%) are working from home (ii) 8303 staff (43%) are attending the workplace. The number of non-directly employed agency HMCTS staff as at 30 Apr 2020 is 2383 of which 753 agency workers are currently fully/part furloughed. There are 495 agency workers who are fully furloughed. Therefore, of the overall agency headcount we have 38.3% of the overall agency headcount either fully/part furloughed and the fully furloughed equates to 20.77% of the overall agency headcount are furloughed. We do not distinguish between our agency and directly employed staff in our data collection so the agency figures for working from home and attending the workplace are included in the overall figures provided above We have also provided a breakdown of staff working from home by grade, however, we are not able to provide the same breakdown by grade for those attending the workplace. This is because our data collection is by exception rather than on all staff; i.e. we record the details of staff who fall into specific categories of work such as working from home or absence and then calculate the number attending the workplace by deducting all of the various work and absence categories from our overall headcount figure. Please note that all data provided is administrative data. Admin Data - Working from Home by Grade as at 13 May 2020Row LabelsWorking from Home Headcount% of total Working From HomeSCS621%Band A4348%Band B88617%Band C (& Fast Streamers)59311%Band D98319%Band E156930%Band F451%Not known2505%Contractors4719%Total5293

Ministry of Justice: Staff

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of (a) directly and (b) non-directly employed staff in his Department are currently (i) working from home, (ii) furloughed or (iii) attending the workplace, by grade; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Philp: The Ministry of Justice is made up of HMCTS, HMPPS, an HQ, executive agencies and departmental ALBs. The figures below show all civil servants in this category excluding HMCTS and HMPPS. The majority of staff are working from home (approximated to 100%, as per the table below). A small number go into offices where there is a business need or because of personal circumstances, however this figure changes day-by-day. None have been furloughed. MOJ (excluding HMPPS and HMCTS) payroll staff as at 30th April 2020Senior Civil Servant167G7/G61,355SEO1,483HEO (inc Fast Streamers)1,361EO1,537AO1,692AA87Not Known39Total7,721 The figures below show non-payroll staff, who are non-directly employed. These include agency staff, interim managers, specialist contractors and consultants. The majority of staff are working from home (approximated to 100%, as per the table below). A small number go into offices where there is a business need or because of personal circumstances, however this figure changes day-by-day. None have been furloughed. MOJ (excluding HMPPS and HMCTS) non-payroll staff as at 31st March 2020Non-payroll staff371 Non-payroll staff are not assigned to civil service grades, so the total is provided only.

Department for International Trade

BeoutQ

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, in light of the potential acquisition of Newcastle football club by Saudi Arabia, what steps her Department is taking to tackle ongoing internet piracy by Saudi Arabia-backed pirate broadcaster beoutQ.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the effect of internet piracy by pirate broadcasters, such as beoutQ, on the export value of the UK’s intellectual property.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the effect on the export value of the UK sports’ broadcasting rights of pirate broadcaster, BeoutQ.

Graham Stuart: Officials in the Department for International Trade work closely with their counterparts in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Intellectual Property Office on matters relating to the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights around the world. Government ministers and our Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have raised this matter with the Saudi Arabian government and will continue to make representations about any alleged broadcast infringement activities of UK IP. We understand broadcasting piracy on satellite in Saudi Arabia, through the pirate operator beoutQ, has now stopped. This followed pressure by the UK, the US, European countries, and major sports rights holders. We are aware that there are continued issues of infringement of UK-owned intellectual property rights across all industries through the use of IPTV apps, and we will work with the IPO to address these issues and work to protect UK intellectual property in all territories.

BeoutQ

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the potential acquisition of Newcastle football club by Saudi Arabia, what discussions she has had with her Cabinet colleagues on the potential effect of internet piracy by state-sponsored pirate broadcasters such as beoutQ on the export value of the UK creative industry's intellectual property.

Graham Stuart: Officials in the Department for International Trade work closely with their counterparts in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Intellectual Property Office on matters relating to the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights around the world. Government ministers and our Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have raised this matter with the Saudi Arabian government and will continue to make representations about any alleged broadcast infringement activities of UK IP. We understand broadcasting piracy on satellite in Saudi Arabia, through the pirate operator beoutQ, has now stopped. This followed pressure by the UK, the US, European countries, and major sports rights holders. We are aware that there are continued issues of infringement of UK-owned intellectual property rights across all industries through the use of IPTV apps, and we will work with the IPO to address these issues and work to protect UK intellectual property in all territories.

Trade Agreements: USA

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether it is her policy to include (a) mutual recognition of professional standards, (b) the movement of people and (c) visas as part of an international trade agreement with the United States; and if she will make a statement.

Greg Hands: On 2 March 2020, the Department for International trade published our negotiating objectives, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uks-approach-to-trade-negotiations-with-the-us. The Government stated its objective to enhance opportunities for UK service suppliers and investors for business travel to the US and to support the recognition of professional qualifications.

Trade Agreements: USA

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether it is her policy to include the cancellation of section 232 tariffs as a condition for an international trade agreement with the United States.

Greg Hands: The UK has consistently opposed US section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium. The UK is a close national security ally of the US and our steel and aluminium products are important for US businesses and defence, and we continue to reject any claim that they harm US national security.The Government published its strategic and outline approach to negotiations with the United States for a UK-US Free Trade Agreement on 2 March. As set out in that paper, we will be pressing the US for the swift removal of these unjustified tariffs.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Trading Standards: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will increase funding to local authorities to cover the additional costs of trading standards officers associated with performing workplace assessments to ease the restrictions of the lockdown due to the covid-19 outbreak.

Mr Simon Clarke: Local Government is playing an important role in the nation’s response to Covid-19, and we will continue to work with councils over the coming weeks to understand the implications of the pandemic.My Department is undertaking a monitoring exercise, which will provide critical insight into the wider spend and income pressures councils are facing as a result of Covid-19. The returns collected will be an important source of information as to how councils are managing, alongside our engagement with local Leaders and Chief Executives.

Leasehold

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to (a) extend the role of the Housing Ombudsman and (b) increase other protections for leaseholders.

Christopher Pincher: Currently, leaseholders with a landlord who is a member of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme can seek redress from the Housing Ombudsman. Managing agents employed by other freeholders are already required by law to be members of one of the following two redress schemes: the Property Redress Scheme and the Property Ombudsman.To increase protections for other leaseholders, the Government, as part of a comprehensive programme of leasehold reform, intends to legislate to extend mandatory membership of a redress scheme to freeholders of leasehold properties who do not employ a managing agent to join a redress scheme.The Social Housing White Paper will set out measures to empower tenants and provide more effective redress through the Housing Ombudsman Service and better regulation. It will be published in due course.

Local Government: Coronavirus

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local, what the planned role is of Local Resilience Forums in working with local communities to develop post-covid-19 local recovery plans.

Mr Simon Clarke: The role of Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) in recovery is set out in “The Role of Local Resilience Forums: A Reference Document”It states that “recovery management is best approached from the perspective of community development and is most effective when conducted at a local level, with the active participation of the community and a strong reliance on local capacities and expertise. Recovery is not just a matter for the statutory agencies – the private sector, the voluntary sector and the wider community will play a crucial role.”MHCLG continues to engage frequently with all LRFs to discuss the Covid-19 response and will work with them as they develop and implement their post-Covid-19 recovery strategies.

Local Government Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what additional support he plans to provide to local authorities that are within the business rates retention pool.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Government has made £3.2 billion available to support all local authorities with the additional cost pressures they face as a result of the extra work and specific tasks we have asked them to carry out in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. We have also introduced measures worth over £5 billion to ease their immediate cashflow pressures.

Local Government: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance he has provided to local authorities on undertaking an covid-19 economic risk assessment of their area.

Mr Simon Clarke: Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) with local authorities as key partners, are required to maintain a community risk register and to maintain and test this on a regular basis. Pandemic disease is one of the severe threats that all LRFs have to assess and plan for in relation to their area and use all relevant guidance to do so.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her department has taken to help ensure that decision making on new claims for disability benefits continues during the covid-19 outbreak.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department’s immediate focus has been supporting people impacted by COVID-19 by putting claims into payment as quickly as possible and being flexible in our response to the challenges claimants are facing while keeping them safe. I should emphasis that for all disability benefits, people should not delay making a claim because of difficulties in providing supporting medical information. We will continue to process claims and work with claimants to gather the best supporting evidence available. We are continuing to refer people making new claims for disability benefits to health assessments. Where it is not possible to complete an assessment based on the paper evidence, a telephony assessment will be arranged where possible and appropriate.

Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to monitoring the effectiveness of its systems in managing increased demand during the covid-19 outbreak; and what data her Department holds on (a) processing times and (b) payment timeliness across all benefits during the covid-19 outbreak.

Mims Davies: The Department has a robust and effective performance management regime, tracking performance across all social security benefits using a range of metrics. When COVID-19 struck in mid-March, we accelerated our normal reporting from monthly or weekly, to be able to track the daily profiles of incoming work and telephone calls and support a focus on managing significantly increased demand on key benefits. We do hold data on benefit processing times, and publish an annual view in the Annual Report and Accounts, which is published here: Annual Report and Accounts. We also publish data on key benefits such as Universal Credit payment timeliness, which is published here: Universal Credit 2013-2020 and on PIP processing times which is published here:PIP Statistics.

Universal Credit: Coronavirus

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effect on the backlog of universal credit mandatory reconsideration of staff redeployment to work on new applications for that benefit; and what estimate she has made of the number of universal credit mandatory reconsideration's that have been delayed during the covid-19 outbreak.

Will Quince: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



DWP is continuing to process Mandatory Reconsiderations during the current Covid-19 pandemic and is aiming to avoid delay where possible.In relation to the number of Universal Credit Mandatory Reconsiderations that have been delayed during the covid-19 pandemic, the information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will implement with immediate effect the policy announced in the Budget 2020 on lowering the repayment rate and extending the repayment period for universal credit advances, which is currently not due to take effect until October 2021.

Will Quince: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



The Government has already taken action to mitigate the impact of repaying advances. In the short-term, the temporary increase to the Standard Allowance of over £80 a month will immediately help absorb the impact of repaying advances. In October 2019, the level of standard deductions was reduced from 40% to 30% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance. In addition, the repayment period for advances has already been extended from 6 months to 12 months, and claimants can ask to defer advance repayments for up to 3 months in certain circumstances.

Children: Maintenance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support the Government is providing to victims of abuse who are waiting for missed child maintenance payments.

Mims Davies: Where parents have reported domestic abuse, agents are trained to signpost clients to additional sources of support, including the new gov.uk page which highlights support routes in a crisis, as well as advice services. The Child Maintenance Options (CMO) website provides advice and signposting information to a number of specialist domestic abuse support organisations, as well as advice and information on staying safe. Paying Parents have a regular schedule of payments to make and are still expected to pay child maintenance throughout this period. If arrears do accrue during this period due to missed payments, the Service will deal with the debt once the current situation stabilises, to ensure that receiving parents do not lose out in the long run. The Service will update calculations as soon as possible and collect any unpaid amounts that may have accrued. Any parent found to have abused the system will find themselves subject to the full extent of our enforcement powers – including prosecution through the courts.

Universal Credit: Self-employed

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether savings for the tax liability of self-employed people held in personal bank accounts count towards the capital limit for universal credit.

Mims Davies: Where a claimant has capital over £16,000 we will contact them to understand their circumstances and determine eligibility. If this money is to be used for business or tax purposes, it will not be counted towards their capital, but they may be asked to prove that the money is for these purposes.

Universal Credit: Coronavirus

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate has she made of the number of claimants in (a) March and (b) April 2020 that received a lower monthly benefit payment than their previous legacy benefit as a result of applying for universal credit during the covid-19 lockdown.

Will Quince: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



The information requested is not available. For people considering claiming Universal Credit, we have updated our information on gov.uk and on understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk, where links to independent benefit calculators are also published.

Universal Credit: Coronavirus

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it here policy to grant transitional protection payments to claimants on legacy benefits that receive a lower benefits payment for applying for universal credit during the covid-19 pandemic.

Will Quince: Where someone’s circumstances change significantly it’s right that we reassess their benefit entitlement. A claimant making a new claim due to changes in their circumstances has always been likely to receive a different level of entitlement than they had had on their previous benefit.As these claimants’ circumstances will have changed, it would be not possible to make a meaningful comparison between their previous level of entitlement to legacy benefits and their entitlement to Universal Credit.

Children: Maintenance

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will ensure that clients who have overpaid their child maintenance payments due to departmental error will have those monies refunded within four weeks of the error being discovered.

Mims Davies: Where overpayments of Child Maintenance occur, these are routinely adjusted from any future Child Maintenance payments due. Where an overpayment occurs due to incorrect allocation to a case, action to rectify this usually takes place within 48 hours.

Children: Maintenance

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will investigate complaints of departmental errors made under the Child Maintenance Scheme; and if she will make a statement on the outcome of that investigation.

Mims Davies: All complaints received by Child Maintenance Service are investigated. Customers who remain dissatisfied can then escalate their complaint and request a fully independent investigation to be completed by the Independent Case Examiner then the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Accuracy of Child Maintenance Service processes is also subject to scrutiny from Counter Fraud & Compliance Directorate, Government Internal Audit Agency and National Audit office.

Maternity Allowance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 23 January to Question 5323 on Maternity Allowance, what the average working day turn around for maternity allowance claims was from (a) 1 to 15 March 2020, (b) 16 to 31 March 2020, (c) 1 to 15 April 2020, and (d) 16 to 30 April 2020.

Mims Davies: The average working day turnaround for Maternity Allowance claims for the following periods are as follows: 1 Mar – 15 Mar – 6.9 days16 Mar -29 Mar – 9.4 days30 Mar – 12 Apr – 9.4 days13 Apr – 26 Apr – 11.4 days27 Apr – 3 May – 9.5 days We continue to monitor performance on a weekly basis.

Children: Maintenance

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the statutory basis is for the Child Maintenance Service to accept only verbal evidence, without supporting documentation, in relation to changes to the paying parent’s financial circumstances.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has directed the Child Maintenance Service to introduce greater flexibility in relation to evidence requirements during the covid-19 outbreak.

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to provide support to single parents that have lost child maintenance payments as a result of the Child Maintenance Service accepting unsupported verbal assurances from the paying parent.

Mims Davies: In these unprecedented times, we have seen a significant increase in the number of new claims to UC - it’s right that we look to streamline our operations, and ensure that people get the support they need. No one will get away with giving false information to avoid paying what they owe and all decisions carry rights of appeal, so either parent can dispute a decision. Those found to be abusing the system at this difficult time will find themselves subject to the full extent of our enforcement powers – including prosecution through the courts. The Government has been clear in its commitment to support families during this public health emergency and we have made a number changes to the welfare system to ensure people are receiving the support they need. These include increasing the standard rate of Universal Credit and working tax credit for this year by around £1000 per year. People who need money urgently continue to be able to access up to a month’s Universal Credit advance upfront by applying online. In addition, Statutory Sick Pay now applies from day one, rather than the fourth day of illness. In April, in response to Covid-19 we increased Local Housing Allowance rates for housing benefit and universal credit claimants to the 30th percentile of local rents, providing additional financial support for private renters. This significant investment of almost £1 billion, ensures over 1 million households will see an increase, on average, of £600 per year Taken together, these measures represent an injection of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system and, along with the other job and business support programmes announced by the Chancellor, represent one of the most comprehensive packages of support introduced by an advanced economy in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Support for Mortgage Interest

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to (a) remove the nine-month qualification period for support with mortgage interest, (b) extend that support to people on qualifying benefits and (c) provide that support provided as a benefit; and if he will make a statement.

Mims Davies: Support for mortgage interest (SMI) is not designed to meet all of a home owner’s mortgage commitments. The prime policy objective is to avert the risk of repossession, as far as is reasonable. There are no plans at present to alter any aspects of the scheme. SMI is not available until the claimant has been in receipt of benefit for nine months. This is because it is considered reasonable that they make their own provision during short periods of sickness or unemployment. This might be through mortgage interest payment protection insurance, savings or by negotiating a re-scheduling plan with their lender. The large majority of claimants go back to work within this timeframe. SMI already extends to people who are on qualifying benefits, that is, who receive Income Support, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, income-related Jobseekers Allowance, Pensions Credit and Universal Credit. Since April 2018, SMI has been available as an interest-bearing loan rather than as a cash benefit. Loans are not recoverable until the property is sold and then only up to the amount of available equity after the primary mortgage has been repaid. These arrangements ensure that claimants receive the same level of protection they enjoyed when SMI was a benefit but enables the taxpayer to recoup their investment. Many taxpayers are unable to afford to buy a property of their own and it would be unfair if only the claimant were the beneficiary of the windfall that their support protected.

Universal Credit: Coronavirus

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of amending the eligibility criteria for backdating universal credit payments to include people affected by the covid-19 outbreak.

Will Quince: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



As Universal Credit claims can be made online or, where needed, by calling the Universal Credit helpline, most claims will not require backdating. However, backdating, up to a maximum of one month, is available where the circumstances are such that someone could not reasonably have been expected to claim earlier including due to illness, disability or an official computer system failure.

Vacancies: Internet

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2020 to Question 42043, what steps she is taking to (a) increase the number of job vacancies posted to her Department’s find a job website, (b) increase the take-up of those vacancies and (c) ensure that vacancies are for roles where Government guidance on social distancing during the covid-19 can be observed.

Mims Davies: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



We are working with departments across Government to understand supply & demand across the labour market and, where there are shortages, we are working with them to promote the Government Find a Job matching service. We are also reaching out to employers and sector bodies through our social channels to encourage them to place vacancies on the site. The Department has launched a new website for jobseekers to maximise take up of vacancies. Jobhelp.dwp.gov.uk provides job search hints and tips as well as crucial advice on transferable skills for those people who need to change sectors. It also highlights live large-scale recruitment in a range of industries as well as the Find a Job Government Skills matching service. BEIS have issued the Working Safely guidance which was developed in conjunction with HSE and other partners, including ACAS. Under the new guidance, employers should do a risk assessment and employees, or potential employees, can report an employer if they have concerns that the guidance isn’t being followed. Contact details to report concerns are on the HSE website.

Department for Work and Pensions: Correspondence

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individual pieces of correspondence her Department has (a) received from hon. Members on behalf of constituents on matters relating to covid-19 on each date since the outbreak began and (b) provided in response to that correspondence in each category of response.

Mims Davies: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.

Social Security Benefits: Children

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to make an assessment of the effectiveness of the operation of the exception to the two-child limit for children born as a result of non-consensual conception.

Will Quince: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



The Government has committed to annual statistics releases related to the operation of the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children. Statistics related to the period up to April 2019 are available on GOV.UK. Statistics related to the period up to April 2020 will be published in the summer.

Child benefit: Children

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to raise awareness of the non-consensual conception exception among people affected by the two-child limit on child benefit.

Will Quince: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



Information regarding the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children and its exceptions, including the non-consensual conception exception, can be found on GOV.UK. When a Universal Credit claimant(s) declares that they have a child or children, they are automatically made aware of the exceptions, including for non-consensual conception, and asked to declare if any of the children are likely to meet any of these criteria. For those claiming Child Tax Credit, information regarding the policy and its exceptions is provided in annual claim renewal packs and at in-year finalisation, when customers move over to Universal Credit.

Employment: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to ensure that disabled people have received support to work from home through (a) Access to Work and (b) other measures since 23 March 2020.

Justin Tomlinson: DWP remains committed to ensuring disabled people continue to receive support they need to move into and maintain employment while working from home through Access to Work. Access to Work is working with employers to ensure assistive technology can be transported from the workplace to support home working. And where support cannot be removed from the workplace, Access to Work will work with the disabled person to consider new adjustments or support adaptations to standard equipment. During COVID-19 Access to Work has introduced various measures to further support disabled people. These include:Accepting email claim forms from customers who request this as a reasonable adjustmentAccepting employer and support worker signatures via email;Extending Support Worker awards that are coming to an end by 6 months;Extending the timeframe customers have to submit payment claim forms to 9 months;Adapting the way our assessments are undertaken to support customers who don’t know what support they need and/or where coping strategies are required as part of the Mental Health Support Service;Flexing support and supporting the moving of special aids and equipment from the workplace to home, and providing new equipment for employees working from home where necessary;Prioritising new applications from key workers and those with jobs starting within the next 4 weeks.

Universal Credit: Coronavirus

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that universal credit payments made to key workers are not reduced as a result of bonus payments made by their employer in recognition of their work during the covid-19 outbreak.

Will Quince: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



A Universal Credit award is calculated on the basis of the set benefit rate against money coming in to ensure fairness of treatment for all claimants against the money that they have earned. This means as earnings increase Universal Credit is gradually reduced. This is a long-standing principle of means-tested benefits. Bonuses are earnings for all workers and are treated in the same way as any other earnings. This is already true for tax and other purposes, regardless of whether or not an individual is claiming a benefit. All earnings are subject to the taper rate and the Universal Credit award is calculated on that basis.

Universal Credit

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of universal credit claimants did not receive their first payment within five weeks in the latest period for which data is available.

Will Quince: The latest available information on Universal Credit payment timeliness is published and can be found at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Products: Imports

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's consultation on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies published in November 2019 and updated in January 2020, when the Government will set out its plans to ban the import of hunting trophies.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the consultation on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies published in November 2019 and updated in January 2020, if he will seek international agreement on the need to address the widespread trade in Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Appendix I animal specimens.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's Consultation on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies announced on November 2019, what plans he has to make representations to his international counterparts on seeking agreement for a ban in the trade of items classified by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora trade database as authorised for non-scientific or breeding purposes, including for personal use, for commercial trade, for circuses and travelling exhibitions, and for hunting trophies.

Victoria Prentis: Because of the coronavirus pandemic, there will be a delay in publication of the summary of responses of the consultation and call for evidence on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies. We are, however, continuing to work on this important area and will publish the summary of responses as soon as it is practical to do so. The international trade in wildlife is a complex matter, touching on environmental, social, and economic aspects. There are strong rules in place, both in the UK and internationally, to ensure any such trade is sustainable. We will remain at the forefront of ensuring these are sufficient, including through our active participation in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) where we have pushed for strong restrictions on trade in endangered species where such trade is shown to contribute to a species’ decline. In addition, the UK remains a global leader in combatting the illegal wildlife trade.

Agriculture Bill and Environment Bill

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations he has received on the inclusion of nature-based solutions in the (a) Agriculture Bill and (b) Environment Bill.

Rebecca Pow: Nature-based solutions are key to tackling societal challenges, such as climate change, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. The Government is deploying such solutions to improve our natural environment.We have received representations on including certain types of nature-based solutions in the Agriculture Bill. However, clause 1(1) of the Bill is broadly drafted and already enables the Secretary of State to support the delivery of environmental outcomes through nature-based solutions. For example, we will use the powers in the Agriculture Bill to introduce our ambitious new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, which is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan. Under the ELM, farmers and land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering a range of public goods. This could include nature based solutions that contribute towards reducing the instances of, and provide protection from, environmental hazards such as flooding.Likewise, the Environment Bill introduces a powerful package of new policies and tools to support nature's recovery. Biodiversity net gain, Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs), conservation covenants and a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities will work together to drive local action on the ground, creating or restoring rich habitats to enable wildlife to recover and thrive.Notably our net gain measures create an approach to development which means that habitats for wildlife must be left in a measurably better state than they were in pre-development. These measures will be supported by LNRSs to guide smooth and effective delivery of mandatory biodiversity net gain. They will help local authorities to best understand where investment in new habitat creation or restoration will achieve best outcomes for biodiversity and wider environmental benefits.We will continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders as we move towards implementing these measures.

Food Supply: Coronavirus

Sajid Javid: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many direct-to-doorstep food parcel deliveries have been completed for people on the NHS Shielded Patient List in Worcestershire due to the covid-19 outbreak.

Victoria Prentis: As of 17 May 2020, 9,977 food parcels have been delivered to clinically vulnerable people who have requested food support in Worcestershire. For information, this covers delivery outcome codes 1 and 2. These codes refer to a box successfully delivered to the individual, or delivered and left on the doorstep.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the covid-19 outbreak has affected the timetable for delivery of the new Environmental Land Management Scheme.

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the start date is for the national pilot of the new Environmental Land Management Scheme.

Victoria Prentis: The timeline for ELM will remain unchanged. The National Pilot is due to commence in late 2021 and run to 2024. Full ELM scheme rollout will be from 2024.

Animal Welfare: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what additional financial support his Department plans to allocated to animal welfare charities during the covid-19 outbreak.

Victoria Prentis: We recognise that animal welfare organisations are undertaking very valuable work at this time to ensure that the health and welfare needs of the diverse range of animals they care for are well met. We welcome the efforts of the companion animal rescue and rehoming sector in launching a number of emergency support funds and we continue to work closely with the animal welfare charities to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on their work. The Government has provided a package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to support businesses, including animal welfare organisations, through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19. They are eligible to apply for a range of support schemes including the Job Retention Scheme, VAT deferral, Business Rates Relief, the Business Interruption Loan schemes, the option to reclaim the costs of Statutory Sick Pay and grant funding of up to £25,000. In addition, specifically for zoos in severe financial distress, the Government has introduced a Zoos Support Fund for licensed zoos in England. Where a zoo in England is in severe financial distress and has fully explored and exhausted all other reasonable avenues to generate income and reduce costs, then they should apply for this fund. Defra has already written to all licensed zoos in England to make them aware of the COVID-19 support schemes available as well as the new Zoo Support Fund. More information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-support-for-zoos-and-aquariums. We are engaging with some of the largest zoos to discuss additional concerns which are arising including over a longer time frame, and active consideration of these is ongoing.

Dairy Farming: Coronavirus

Simon Baynes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the dairy industry during the covid-19 outbreak.

Victoria Prentis: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Edmonton on 12 May 2020, PQ 42136 [https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-05-01/42136/].

Animal Products: Trade

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his timescale is for publishing the Government's response to his Department's consultation on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies published in November 2019 and updated in January 2020.

Victoria Prentis: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be a delay in publication of the Government response to the consultation and call for evidence on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies. We are, however, continuing to work on this important area and will publish the Government response as soon as it is practical to do so. The outcome of the consultation, and the accompanying call for evidence, will inform our next steps.

Farmers: Coronavirus

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support farmers during the covid-19 outbreak.

Victoria Prentis: We are working closely alongside the agricultural industry to ensure that we understand and manage the impacts to the industry. Defra has been in close discussion with banks to ensure the farming sector has access to financial support to ease cashflow problems during this period, including through the Government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan scheme, which was announced on 27 April and is the latest step in a package of support measures announced by the Chancellor. The Government will provide lenders with a 100% guarantee on each loan, to give lenders the confidence they need to support small businesses. These loans will be from £2,000 up to £50,000, capped at 25% of firms’ turnover, and the Government will cover the first 12 months of interest payments and fees charged to the business by the lender. Almost all UK businesses will be eligible to apply for a loan under the scheme. In March, Defra worked with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to introduce new measures to support businesses in the food sector to keep food supply flowing on to shelves and into homes. These included a temporary relaxation of competition rules to allow supermarkets to work together. The legislation to bring in this change was introduced on 27 March and has a retrospective effect from 1 March. In April, we temporarily relaxed further elements of competition law to support the dairy sector during this period. Legislation was laid before Parliament on 1 May to enable collaboration between dairy farmers and producers, supporting them to adapt to changes in the supply chain including decreased demand from the hospitality sector. The legislation will apply retrospectively from 1 April 2020. On 6 May, Defra announced a new fund to support English dairy farmers who have seen decreased demand because of the loss of the food service sector. Dairy farmers access this funding for those qualifying months, with no cap set on the number of farmers who can receive this support or on the total funding available. Eligible dairy farmers who have lost more than 25% of their income over April and May because of coronavirus disruptions will be eligible for funding of up to £10,000 each, to cover around 70% of their lost income during the qualifying months to ensure they can continue to operate and sustain production capacity without impacts on animal welfare. The Welsh Government announced the opening of a similar scheme on 12 May. The availability of this funding followed the launch on 5 May of a joint Government and Devolved Administrations backed £1 million campaign aiming to boost milk consumption and help producers use their surplus stock. This 12-week campaign is being led by Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Dairy UK. This follows a similar ongoing campaign led by AHDB and retailers to promote the consumption of beef products.

Agricultural Products: Prices

Carla Lockhart: Whether he plans to provide support to the devolved Administrations to help local (a) dairy and (b) beef producers that are facing reductions in farmgate prices.

Victoria Prentis: This is a devolved matter and so will be for the Northern Ireland Executive to decide what support they provide to their sectors. I meet with Minister Poots regularly and we are working closely to share information and intentions to help develop coherent approaches, for example, a UK-wide campaign has recently been launched to encourage consumers to increase dairy purchases.

Dairy Farming: Coronavirus

David Morris: What steps he is taking to support the dairy industry during the covid-19 outbreak.

Victoria Prentis: Dairy farmers are crucial in ensuring that food supplies remain resilient during this difficult period. In addition to the various HM Treasury COVID-19 support packages, Defra has introduced specific measures to support the dairy industry during the COVID-19 outbreak, particularly those impacted by the loss of the food service sector. These include a dairy support scheme, easements to competition law, support for an AHDB milk promotion campaign and the opening of various intervention and storage aid schemes.

Food Supply: Coronavirus

Margaret Greenwood: What steps he is taking to maintain food supplies for vulnerable people during the covid-19 outbreak.

Zarah Sultana: What steps he is taking to maintain food supplies for vulnerable people during the covid-19 outbreak.

Afzal Khan: What steps he is taking to maintain food supplies for vulnerable people during the covid-19 outbreak.

Victoria Prentis: Shielded individuals can opt to receive deliveries of food and essential supplies if they are without a support network of friends and family while self-isolating at home.We have been working with food retailers, delivery organisations and volunteer groups to help support the non-shielded vulnerable, who are avoiding going to the shops if possible. A range of options are available for those people, including asking for an NHS Volunteer Responder to do their shopping for them – 100,000 people have had help with community tasks like shopping from NHS responders so far. Many charities and community organisations are also providing voluntary shop and drop services, as are neighbours and other community volunteers. If the situation is urgent, local authorities can also offer support and services, and we are working with them to help make sure that they have a range of ways to help those who contact them.We are also working to help those having difficulty affording food. The Government has announced up to £16 million to provide food for those who are struggling as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The programme will provide millions of meals over the next 12 weeks and be delivered through charities including FareShare and WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme). At least 5,000 frontline charities in England will benefit, including refuges, homeless shelters and rehabilitation services. It will cover rural areas as well as cities, targeting those who are struggling to get food.

Farmers: Coronavirus

Stephen Metcalfe: What steps he is taking to support farmers during the covid-19 outbreak.

Victoria Prentis: Defra took early steps to support farmers, by designating them as key workers and temporarily relaxing drivers’ hours rules. We have worked with banks to help farmers access financial support measures outline by the Chancellor, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.  We have supported dairy farmers by announcing a fund in England to help those affected by the loss of the food service sector. We have also temporarily relaxed competition law rules. We are working with AHDB and Diary UK, who have launched a new £1 million campaign to drive consumption of milk. A similar campaign is promoting beef. We are also ensuring that farmers and growers are able to recruit the workers that they require as we approach the busy harvest months.

Home Office

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2020 to Question 14691 on immigration: EU Nationals, how many share codes have been requested in each month since the EU Settlement Scheme became operational.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2020 to Question 14691 on Immigration: EU Nationals, by what date his Department will have published data on usage of the view and prove service.

Kevin Foster: Individuals granted pre-settled or settled status have had the option within the ‘view and prove your settled or pre-settled status’ service to share their status information for a variety of reasons since 30th September 2019. This is done by generating a ‘share code’ which can be given to a third party to provide them with time-limited access to the data. One of these options (‘work in the UK’) takes users to a separate Home Office service, which can also be used by individuals who have not been through the EU Settlement Scheme (holders of Biometric Residence Permits (BRP) and Biometric Residence Cards (BRC)).The ability to share information via the online service(s) is entirely optional; EEA nationals can continue to rely on their passports or national ID cards until 30 June 2021 to evidence their rights in the UK but can choose to use the online service if they wish. Those with a BRP/C can also continue to rely on their physical cards.While data relating to number of share codes generated is captured for internal purposes, this is not representative of the number of times users have shared their status information. Data on the number of views of a person’s status by third parties gives a more accurate reflection of checks carried out, and this is intended to be included when data on usage is published.Data on usage of the ‘view and prove’ service is intended to be published as part of the Home Office Transparency Data. The data will be published once we are content it is robust and of sufficient quality, having been through our assurance processes, which should be before the end of the year.

Visas: Arts

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on (a) culture and (b) the economy of requiring Tier 5 temporary worker visas for artists.

Kevin Foster: The Government has been clear we are ending free movement, and we have introduced an Immigration Bill to bring in a firm and fair points-based system. EEA artists, entertainers and musicians wishing to come to the UK after the end of the transition period for longer-term work will need to do so under the points-based system, which will continue to include special arrangements for creative workers.There are several existing provisions for visiting artists, entertainers and musicians – they can perform at events, take part in competitions and auditions, make personal appearances and take part in promotional activities for up to 6 months without the need for formal sponsorship or a work visa if they are not receiving payment. Visiting artists, entertainers and musicians can also receive payment for appearance at permit free festivals for up to 6 months, or for up to one month for a specific engagement, under the Visitor route. We expect to treat EU citizens as non-visa nationals meaning they can come to the UK as visitors without the need to obtain a visa.More detailed analysis on the impact of the points-based system will be published shortly.

Visas: Work Permits

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has for people whose travel visas and work permits in the UK are expiring and whose countries are in lockdown.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has put in place a range of measures to support those affected by the covid-19 outbreak. No individual who is in the UK legally and whose visa expires between 24 January 2020 and 30 May 2020 will be regarded as an overstayer or suffer any detriment in the future if they cannot leave the UK because of travel restrictions related to COVID-19. Their visa will be extended to 31 May 2020. Individuals must update their records online using the e-form published on Gov.uk. Individuals do not need to do anything else once they have submitted the online e-form and their status in the UK is secure from the point they have submitted.These are unprecedented times and we may make further adjustments to requirements where necessary and appropriate, to ensure people are not unduly affected by circumstances beyond their control.

Refugees: Children

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many trafficked, separated and unaccompanied migrant children were (a) recorded in the UK and (b) appointed an independent guardian in each calendar year from 2015 to 2019.

Victoria Atkins: The Government views the slavery, including trafficking, of children as a very serious offence and recognises the particular vulnerabilities of child victims.The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery. Between 2015 and 2019, 12,054 children were referred to the NRM. The breakdown of referrals for potential child victims is as follows: YearNumber of NRM referrals (minors)201597720161279201721182018313020194550The NRM referral data is not broken down into the sub-categories outlined in the question. However the Home Office publishes the number of asylum claims lodged by unaccompanied children as part of its quarterly statistics release which can be foundhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/819723/evaluation-independent-child-trafficking-guardians-final-horr111.pdfWhere children are found to be victims of modern slavery, their safety and welfare are addressed as the priority, irrespective of nationality or immigration status. Local authorities are responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children in their area. Unaccompanied children looked after by local authorities are entitled to the same services as any other looked-after child, including access to education, healthcare, legal support and accommodation. They will be allocated a social worker who will assess their individual needs and draw up a care plan which sets out how the local authority intends to respond to the full range of these needs. Additionally, they must be allocated an independent reviewing officer, who will be responsible for chairing reviews of care plans and arranging for the child’s input; and have access to an independent advocate responsible for accurately representing the child’s wishes and feelings.In addition to this statutory support, the Government has expanded Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs) to one third of local authorities in England and Wales. ICTGs are an additional source of advice and support for all potentially trafficked children, irrespective of nationality, and somebody who can advocate on their behalf.An evaluation of the ICTG service within the early adopter sites was published in July 2019 and can be found here. This evaluation was conducted on the service provided in the three initial sites of Greater Manchester, Hampshire and Wales between February 2017 and January 2019. Over this time period, 445 children were referred to the ICTG service.Later this year the Home Office will publish its next evaluation of the ICTG service, which will provide further updates on outcomes of the service including the number of children it supports.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 4 visa applications have (a) been made and (b) been successful in (i) January 2019, (ii) January 2020, (iii) February 2019, (iv) February 2020, (v) March 2019, (vi) March 2020, (vii) April 2019 and (viii) April 2020.

Kevin Foster: The most recently published transparency data in February 2020 includes data up to the end of December 2019, so we are unable to provide any published data for 2020. For the 2019 statistics requested, please see the table below. Study ApplicationsQ1 20194,674In-CountryQ1 201914,692Entry ClearanceQ1 201919,366Total Study Intake This data is taken from the In-Country Migration Data and International Operations Transparency Data published in August 2019. The published data does not include grant rates, for this specific cohort of applications, however the table below does show the number of cases granted in this period. Study ApprovalsQ1 20195,438In CountryQ1 201916,099Entry ClearanceQ1 201919,366Total Study Intake

Migrant Workers: Visas

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Office, whether the automatic visa extension for frontline health workers extends to people employed in the NHS as healthcare assistants.

Kevin Foster: The Government has announced we will extend the visas for a range of healthcare professionals working for the NHS and independent health and care providers, where their current visa expires before 1 October. This offer also applies to their families. The 12-month extension is automatic and free of charge and those benefitting will not have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge. Details of immigration changes, including the extended list of healthcare professionals covered by this offer, relating to COVID-19 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-immigration-and-borders.We are continuing to work hand in hand with the Department of Health and Social Care on how we can best support frontline health and care workers.

Firearms: Licensing

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of people that have been prosecuted for making a false declaration in respect of their medical condition on applications for shotgun and firearm certificates in each of the last five years.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of GPs that comply with its guidance on firearms licensing by placing markers on the medical notes of firearms certificate holders.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of GPs who refuse to engage in the firearms certification process on grounds of conscientious objection.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the legal liability is of a GP involved in the medical verification of a firearms licence form; and if she will make a statement.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of police constabularies that accept medical verification forms for firearms licences that have been completed by medical staff of a general practice other than a GP.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information she holds on the proportion of firearms licensing applications for grant and renewal which require further inquiries into the medical health of applicants.

Kit Malthouse: Firearms licensing is an operational matter for police forces. The police are not required to provide data to the Home Office about how the medical checks are conducted or the response from GPs. The police carry out a number of checks to ensure that those in possession of firearms do not pose a danger to public safety, including in relation to medical suitability. As part of this process, GPs are asked to provide information about whether the applicant has suffered from a number of relevant medical conditions.The Government has consulted on the introduction of new statutory firearms guidance to police, which includes proposals for revised medical arrangements to ensure that police have the medical information they require before the grant of a certificate. The consultation closed on 17 September and the Government will publish its response and the statutory guidance in due course.

Fraud: Coronavirus

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Office, what steps she is taking to raise the public's awareness of instances of criminals exploiting the covid-19 outbreak to commit fraud.

James Brokenshire: The Government and law enforcement colleagues are working tirelessly to identify and disrupt those seeking to commit these crimes. The National Crime Agency (NCA), alongside the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the City of London Police (CoLP) have thwarted over 2,000 scams in April alone. In addition we have worked closely with the National Crime Agency, the Financial Conduct Authority, UK Finance and others to amplify messages to the public setting out how they can protect themselves from fraud. We have recently launched a gov.uk page on coronavirus related fraud and cybercrime, including easy-to-follow steps for people to follow to better protect themselves as well as signposting all relevant advice and tips. This page can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-fraud-and-cyber-crime

Firearms: Licensing

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the range of charges levied by GPs for completing verification forms for the purposes of firearms licensing.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to ensure that medical involvement in firearms licensing conforms her Department's guidance on firearms licensing.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what impact assessment was undertaken on the potential effect of the introduction of GP verification on levels of participation in the shooting community.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the introduction by police constabularies of GP verification of firearms licensing.

Kit Malthouse: The police are responsible for assessing the suitability of those who apply for the grant or renewal of a firearm or shotgun certificate. The police carry out a number of checks to ensure that those in possession of firearms do not pose a danger to public safety, including in relation to medical suitability based on information from the applicant’s GP.The Government has consulted on the introduction of new statutory firearms guidance to police to bring greater consistency to licensing practice across the country. This includes proposals for revised medical arrangements to ensure that police have the medical information they require before the grant of a certificate.An impact assessment on the proposed medical arrangements was published alongside the consultation document. This made reference to a range of fees being charged by some GPs to provide the medical information. The consultation closed on 17 September and the Government will publish its response and the statutory guidance in due course.

Immigration Controls: France

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much of the funding allocated to border security in northern France under the (a) 2015 Joint Declaration, (b) 2018 Sandhurst Agreement and (c) 2019 Joint Action Plan have been spent; and if she will provide a breakdown of that spending.

Chris Philp: As of May 2020, the full package of funding committed under the Joint Declaration (2015), the Sandhurst Treaty (2018) and Joint Action Plan on small boats (2019) has been spent, representing a total investment of €68.6 million.This funding has been utilised to implement the obligations as detailed in the agreements, including investments in improving border infrastructure at the ports of Calais and Dunkirk, the delivery of strategic communications campaigns, cooperation on return charter flights, and developing access to French asylum services.The funding allocated under the Joint Action Plan was committed to the delivery of strategic communications campaign as well as the purchase of equipment to improve detections of boats making crossings.

Undocumented Migrants: Deportation

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of migrants who arrived in the UK illegally in the last five calendar years have been deported.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many illegal immigrants have been deported in the last five years.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many migrants have arrived in the UK illegally in each month of the last three years.

Chris Philp: The Home Office does not publish data on the number of individuals who have arrived illegally in the UK. By its very nature, it is not possible to know the exact size of the illegal population, or the numbers who successfully enter the UK illegally, and so we do not seek to make any official estimates of the illegal population.Keeping our border secure is the Government’s highest priority and we are focused on making it harder for people to enter and live in the UK illegally whilst ensuring those who have the right to reside in the UK can do so.Foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them and while legal challenges and problems obtaining travel documents can frustrate immediate deportation, we never give up trying to deport FNOs and making our communities safer or seek to return people who do not have any legal right to stay in the UK.The Home Office publishes data on the number of returns from the UK in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of Returns (of which deportations are a subset) are published in table Ret_D01 of the Returns detailed datasets.The term 'deportations' refers to a legally-defined subset of returns which are enforced either following a criminal conviction or when it is judged that a person’s removal from the UK is conducive to the public good. Information on those deported is not separately available and therefore the published statistics refer to all enforced returns.Please note that only some of those returned will have previously entered the UK illegally; others may have entered legally, for example those who enter on a visa and overstay their period of valid leave and are therefore not separately identifiable in the data.

Immunity Certificates

Simon Jupp: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in how many cases has the Public Interest Immunity Procedure been invoked since the Justice and Security Act 2013 became law.

Simon Jupp: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Public Immunity Interest Immunity Procedures have been (a) applied for and (b) granted by Devon and Cornwall Police in each of the last 10 years.

James Brokenshire: The Justice and Security Act 2013 deals with oversight of the UK intelligence and security agencies and sets out the process by which closed material proceedings may be authorised to enable court hearings to take place using sensitive intelligence material.The Home Office does not hold information on applications to the courts for Public Interest Immunity.The Ministry of Justice publishes regular reports on the use of closed material proceedings under the Justice and Security Act 2013. These can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/use-of-closed-material-procedure-reports.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many migrants have been intercepted (a) while attempting to make an illegal crossing of the English Channel and (b) shortly after arriving in the UK in each of the last 12 months for which that data is available.

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many migrants have entered the UK in the last 12 months as a result of making an illegal crossing of the English Channel; and how many of those migrants have subsequently left the UK.

Chris Philp: People crossing the Channel to enter the UK have come from a safe country – usually France – and so there is no reason why they need to make this trip in order to claim asylum. Those fleeing persecution should stay in the first safe country they enter.The UK continues to work closely with France and other countries to return migrants who have entered the UK by small boat in order to provide a strong deterrent against these dangerous crossings.The number of migrants arriving in the UK crossing the Channel by small boats for the months of January to March 2020 is approx. 450. These are provisional figures based on operational management information. The figures for April have not passed through a data quality check and cannot be assured. The final figures for all months will be published at a later date, once they have been verified and fully quality assured.Information regarding migrants crossing the English Channel was provided to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 5 March 2019 which gave the number of migrants detected entering the UK by small boats from January 2018 to February 2019 as 428. On 22 July 2019 the then Home Secretary Sajid Javid provided an additional figure to Home Affairs Select Committee that up to 21 July 2019 725 migrants had crossed the English Channel.Since January 2019, over 155 people who entered the UK illegally on small boats have been returned to Europe. However, as a result of COVID-19 the vast majority of EU member states have temporarily paused accepting returns under the Dublin Regulations, but we are tracking those individuals and where appropriate will seek to return them when routes are available.

Firearms: Licensing

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will list the meetings held since May 2016 by (a) Ministers and (b) officials of her Department with representatives of the British Medical Association on the matter of the involvement of medical professionals with respect to firearms licensing.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, she will list the meetings held since May 2016 by (a) Ministers and (b) officials of her Department with the British Association for Shooting and Conservation on the matter of the involvement of medical professionals with respect to firearms licensing.

Kit Malthouse: Home Office Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and as was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings. It is, however, the case that we have discussed the involvement of medical professionals in firearms licensing procedures with representatives of the police, the medical profession and shooting organisations and we shall continue to do so, as appropriate.

Firearms: Licensing

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect on the NHS of police forces requiring medical verification for firearms licensing applications from GPs during the covid-19 outbreak.

Kit Malthouse: The Government recognises that firearms licensing arrangements, including the medical aspects, will be affected by the measures that have been put in place in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. We want to avoid placing any additional or unnecessary burdens on the NHS, and police forces may need to adopt a flexible approach to meet local need and risk in the current exceptional circumstances, with some impact on firearms licensing arrangements. The Government will continue to have discussions with the police to keep firearms licensing under review over the coming weeks and months.

Firearms: Licensing

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what powers her Department has to specify the practice to be adopted by constabularies on firearms licensing.

Kit Malthouse: While firearms licensing is an operational matter for the police, the Policing and Crime Act 2017 allows the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions which police forces will be required to have regard to. The Government has consulted on the introduction of this guidance and we will publish a response to that consultation, and the statutory guidance, in due course.

Firearms: Licensing

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what ongoing monitoring her Department undertakes to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of firearms licensing by individual police constabularies.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department collects on the effectiveness and efficiency of firearms licensing by individual police constabularies.

Kit Malthouse: Firearms licensing is an operational for the police and the Government does not monitor individual licensing decisions. The Government has provided guidance to the police on the exercise of their firearms licensing functions, and we have consulted on the introduction of statutory guidance to the police on this issue, which will help to ensure greater consistency in practice across all police forces.The Government publishes statistics on firearms and shotgun certificates issued by police forces in England and Wales. The most recent statistics, for the period April 2018 to March 2019 can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/812296/statistics-firearm-shotgun-certificates-england-wales-2018-2019-hosb0919.pdf.

Firearms: Licensing

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has provided to the Chairman of the National Police Chief Council's firearms and explosives committee on firearms licensing by constabularies.

Kit Malthouse: The Government has not issued guidance specifically to the National Police Chiefs’ Council on firearms licensing. However, in accordance with section 133 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017, the Secretary of State must consult the National Police Chiefs' Council and the chief constable of the Police Service of Scotland before issuing statutory guidance to the police on firearms licensing. Such consultation will take place before this guidance is issued.

Asylum: Housing

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2020 to Question 42081 on asylum: detention centres, if she will take steps to ensure that the advice from Public Health England is published before her Department reviews its policy on evictions and asylum accommodation.

Chris Philp: As outlined by Minister Chris Philp, the Home Office will be reviewing the current policy to allow service users to remain in their asylum accommodation before the end of June. We will do this in line with the Government advice in place at that time, which will take into account Public Health England guidance. Publication of PHE guidance is a matter for PHE.

Scotland Office

Coronavirus: Scotland

Simon Baynes: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on co-ordinating a UK-wide response to the covid-19 outbreak.

Mr Alister Jack: I have regular discussions with all my cabinet colleagues on the Covid-19 outbreak, including the co-ordination of a UK-wide response. This Government is absolutely committed to a UK-wide approach. We will continue to work together with the Scottish Government and other Devolved Administrations to ensure a coordinated approach across the UK, while respecting the devolution settlements.

Church Commissioners

Church Services: Attendance

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what is the average church attendance each week in (a) Rother Valley Constituency, (b) Yorkshire, and (c) England  in each year of the last five years.

Andrew Selous: The most recent survey of church attendance was published in 2018, and the table below contains figures aggregated from 2014-18 using average weekly attendance figures at all age services. These figures are collected each year during four weeks in October.The figures in the table below include adult and child attendance at Sunday and midweek church services and fresh expressions, but not attendance at services for schools. Special local services such as memorials to commemorate flooding – can lead to fluctuations in the figures. 20142015201620172018Rother Valley*1,4501,2601,1701,130980Yorkshire*82,60082,80077,60075,50075,200Church of England975,300959,900921,700893,900870,900 More information can be found in the annual Statistics for Mission report: https://www.churchofengland.org/media/18763Parish boundaries do not coincide with constituency or county boundaries. Figures in the table are based on reasonable approximations as follows:The Rother Valley figure refers to the parishes in the Deanery of Laughton along with the parishes of Whiston and Wickersley.The Yorkshire figure refers to the Dioceses of York, Leeds, and Sheffield.

Churches: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what the Commissioners' timetable is for enabling churches to reopen safely for funeral services after the covid-19 lockdown.

Andrew Selous: The Church Commissioners do not have responsibility for setting a timetable for the reopening of church buildings for funeral services. Current guidance from the House of Bishops is not to conduct funeral services in church buildings because of widely expressed concerns about parishes having capacity to conduct such funerals safely, including being able to clean churches thoroughly between services to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus. This is guidance, not instruction. We are acutely aware of the anguish of those not able to have or attend a funeral in their parish church in the current circumstances. Where it is requested a priest will be present to conduct a funeral service, either at a crematorium or at the churchyard. The House of Bishops meets regularly to review its guidance which will be updated in line with changing circumstances, and published on the Church of England website.

Churches: Coronavirus

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what the Commissioners' timetable is for churches to reopen for baptisms, weddings and funerals following the covid-19 outbreak.

Andrew Selous: The Church Commissioners do not have responsibility for setting a timetable for the reopening of church buildings for funeral services. Baptisms and weddings cannot at present be celebrated inside church buildings, and the relevant Cabinet Office and MHCLG guidance can be seen here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close-guidance#contentsCurrent guidance from the House of Bishops is not to conduct funeral services in church buildings because of widely expressed concerns about parishes having capacity to conduct such funerals safely, including being able to clean churches thoroughly between services to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus. This is guidance, not instruction. We are acutely aware of the anguish of those not able to celebrate significant life events such as baptisms, weddings and funerals in their parish church in the current circumstances. The House of Bishops meets regularly to review its guidance which will be updated in line with changing circumstances, and published on the Church of England website.

Churches: Coronavirus

Tracey Crouch: To ask the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church of England has made of the potential effect on public health of reopening churches.

Andrew Selous: The House of Bishops meets regularly to review its own guidance to clergy in light of Government and public health advice.On 5th May the House of Bishops issued new guidance, which can be seen at: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/news/house-bishops-backs-phased-approach-revising-access-church-buildingsWhile church buildings remain closed for public worship in line with Government advice, the Bishops agreed in principle to a phased approach to lifting restrictions, in time and in parallel with the Government's approach, with three broad stages. The first, effective immediately, allows clergy limited access to church buildings for activities such as streaming of services or private prayer, so long as the necessary hygiene and social distancing precautions are taken; the decision being made by individual clergy after discussion with their diocesan bishop. The second and third will see access for some rites and ceremonies, and for worship services with limited congregations meeting, when Government restrictions are eased to allow it.Senior staff of the National Church Institutions have joined two of the Government’s ‘unlocking’ work streams, within the Department for Culture Media and Sport and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Cabinet Office

Procurement: Coronavirus

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government has awarded covid-19 related contracts to (a) Deloitte and (b) McKinsey; and what the value of each contract is.

Penny Mordaunt: Details of central government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

Members: Correspondence

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled, Handling Correspondence from Members of Parliament, Members of the House of Lords, MEPs and members of Devolved Administrations, when Ministers plan to recommence signing off  directly correspondence from hon. Members.

Chloe Smith: The right of MPs to take up constituents’ cases and other issues directly with the Government is an important part of the democratic process and underlines the accountability of Ministers to Parliament. It is essential that MPs receive carefully considered and prompt responses to their enquiries from all Government Departments, which address constituents’ concerns.Further to the Leader of the House of Common’s comments during the Business Statement of 6 May 2020, the Cabinet Office guidance for departments on handling correspondence states that replies to letters from MPs by officials should only be authorised in certain exceptional cases, for example, when dealing with a large volume of letters on the same issue or under certain circumstances where an official reply would be more appropriate.

Treasury

Small Businesses: Coronavirus

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are excluded from the Small Business Grants Fund and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund because those SMEs have a rateable value of more than £51,000; and whether it is the Government’s policy that not all SMEs are eligible to access financial support made available in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

Kemi Badenoch: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 04 May 2020.The correct answer should have been:

According to the VOA official statistics, there are around 299,000 205,000 business properties in England with a rateable value over £51,000 as at 31 March 2019. . Of these, approximately 83,000 are identified as  116,000 are retail, hospitality and leisure properties using VOA's administrative data source. The Small Business Grants Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund have been designed to support the smallest businesses, and smaller businesses in the some of the sectors which have been hit hardest by measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Around 1 million small and medium businesses will receive cash grants as a result of these schemes, and over £12 billion will be paid out to these businesses. The two schemes have been tied to the business rates system and rating assessments, which together provide a framework for Local Authorities to make payments as quickly as possible. Businesses in the business rates system are also likely to face particularly high fixed costs, such as fixed rents. In addition to the main grants schemes, Government has made available up to an additional £617m for Local Authorities in England to enable them to pay grants to small businesses which also face high fixed building-related costs but which are excluded from the current system due to the way they fit into the business rates system. Businesses which are not eligible for the grants schemes should be able to benefit from other measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including: An option to defer VAT payments by up to twelve months;The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, now extended to cover all businesses including those which would be able to access commercial credit;The Bounce Back Loan scheme, which will ensure that small and micro businesses can quickly access loans of up to £50,000 which are 100% guaranteed by the Government;The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, to support businesses with their wage bills; andThe Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, to provide support to the self-employed.

Kemi Badenoch: According to the VOA official statistics, there are around 299,000 205,000 business properties in England with a rateable value over £51,000 as at 31 March 2019. . Of these, approximately 83,000 are identified as  116,000 are retail, hospitality and leisure properties using VOA's administrative data source. The Small Business Grants Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund have been designed to support the smallest businesses, and smaller businesses in the some of the sectors which have been hit hardest by measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Around 1 million small and medium businesses will receive cash grants as a result of these schemes, and over £12 billion will be paid out to these businesses. The two schemes have been tied to the business rates system and rating assessments, which together provide a framework for Local Authorities to make payments as quickly as possible. Businesses in the business rates system are also likely to face particularly high fixed costs, such as fixed rents. In addition to the main grants schemes, Government has made available up to an additional £617m for Local Authorities in England to enable them to pay grants to small businesses which also face high fixed building-related costs but which are excluded from the current system due to the way they fit into the business rates system. Businesses which are not eligible for the grants schemes should be able to benefit from other measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including: An option to defer VAT payments by up to twelve months;The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, now extended to cover all businesses including those which would be able to access commercial credit;The Bounce Back Loan scheme, which will ensure that small and micro businesses can quickly access loans of up to £50,000 which are 100% guaranteed by the Government;The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, to support businesses with their wage bills; andThe Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, to provide support to the self-employed.

Self-employment Income Support Scheme

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will adjust the assessment of average self-employed earnings in the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme to take into account periods of maternity leave.

Kate Griffiths: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that reduced earnings as a result of receiving maternity allowance, are taken into account for self-employed women when calculating average profits from their tax returns for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme.

Jesse Norman: The Self-Employed Income Support Scheme has been designed to deliver support as quickly and effectively as possible to millions of individuals. The Government recognises the challenges faced by those with periods of parental leave, and the existing averaging calculation does account for periods of reduced profits. The Government will continue to work with stakeholders to make sure the correct funding reaches those who need it most, keeping all policies under review while ensuring that any potential changes do not risk the wider delivery of Government schemes.

Self-employment Income Support Scheme

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether accountants can submit applications to the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme on behalf of their self-employed clients.

Jesse Norman: The claims process for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme is easy and straightforward. HMRC are doing all of the calculations, and taxpayers will only need their National Insurance number, Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number, online log-in details, and bank account details to apply for the grant. Accountants, tax agents or advisers cannot make claims on behalf of their clients. Designing a scheme that enabled agents to do this would have taken significantly longer to deliver, at a time when speed is a priority. Accountants, tax agents and advisers can help their clients by ensuring clients are aware they may be eligible; helping clients to find the details they need; using the online eligibility checker on their clients’ behalf (or supporting them to use the checker themselves); and explaining why they may or may not be eligible, and what other support is available to them.

New Businesses: Loans

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to enable fintech banks to provide loans to tech start-ups.

John Glen: The UK is home to a world-leading fintech sector and an impressive amount of talent and expertise in this area. The government knows that fintech firms play an important role in the lending market, especially for smaller businesses. The government is grateful for the way the sector has responded to the current crisis by identifying opportunities where technology may support our response. Already, a number of leading UK fintechs have been accredited by the British Business Bank (BBB) to help deliver the government’s business lending schemes. As of 17 May 464,393 facilities have been approved under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, totalling £14.18bn.

Mortgages: Coronavirus

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to extend the mortgage holiday period for people who have recently been made redundant or who are unemployed as a result of the covid-9 outbreak.

John Glen: We are continuing to work closely with lenders and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure that people are supported during these challenging times, especially if they are facing financial distress. Lenders are continuing to show forbearance as required, working together with borrowers to establish how they can best affordably and gradually get back on track. Customers who are concerned about their current financial situation should get in touch with their lender at the earliest possible opportunity.

Self-employed: Coronavirus

Ben Everitt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to establish a hardship fund for self-employed people facing financial hardship during the covid-19 outbreak.

Jesse Norman: The new Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) helps those adversely affected by COVID-19. The scheme allows eligible individuals to claim a taxable grant worth 80 per cent of their average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months, and capped at £7,500 in total. Self-employed individuals, including members of partnerships, are eligible if they have submitted their Income Tax Self Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19, continued to trade, and have been adversely affected by COVID-19. To qualify, their self-employed trading profits must be less than £50,000, with more than half of their income from self-employment. Some 95 per cent of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment could benefit from this scheme. The Chancellor will keep the scheme under review. Individuals may have access to a range of grants and loans depending on their circumstances, and the self-employed can benefit from the Government’s relaxation of the earnings rules (known as the Minimum Income Floor) in Universal Credit. The SEISS supplements the significant support already announced for UK businesses, including the Bounce Back Loan Scheme for small businesses, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the deferral of tax payments. More information about the full range of business support measures is available at www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

Crowdfunding

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support he is providing to Peer2Peer lending platforms.

John Glen: The Government monitors the peer-to-peer (P2P) lending sector on an ongoing basis and engages regularly with P2P platforms and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are responsible for the regulation of the sector. The Government believes that P2P providers deliver innovative forms of finance for both consumers and business, and can provide healthy competition in the financial services market and, as such, is keen to see the sector continue to grow and evolve. P2P platforms are eligible to access finance under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), where they can access loans up to £50 million under the latter, depending on the size of the platform. Under CLBILS, borrowers can apply for finance facilities, including overdrafts, of up to £25 million for businesses with a turnover between £45 million and £250 million, and up to £50 million to businesses with a turnover of over £250 million. Those P2P platforms that facilitate loans to businesses can also apply to become accredited lenders under these schemes. More information on eligibility criteria and registering to become an accredited lender, can be found on the British Business Bank’s website here: https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-scheme-cbils-2/become-a-cbils-accredited-lender/

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to companies in administration that may wish to apply for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, what criteria need to be met for those companies to have a reasonable likelihood of being able to re-hire workers at the end of the furlough period; and whether he has plans to update the guidance on eligibility criteria for that scheme.

Jesse Norman: The Government guidance is clear that to be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, firms must have created and started a PAYE payroll scheme on or before 19 March 2020; be enrolled for PAYE online; and have a UK bank account. As such, any entity with a UK payroll can apply. Where a company is being taken under the management of an administrator, the administrator will be able to access the Job Retention Scheme. The Government would expect that an administrator would only apply for the scheme if there is a reasonable likelihood of the employees remaining employed; for example, because there is a real prospect of the company being taken on as a going concern, or an active pursuit of a sale of the business.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Chris Elmore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the length of time employers can claim for employees through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Jesse Norman: The Government has extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until October 2020. Extending the scheme in its current form until July will provide workers, businesses and the economy with clarity on this support. After July, the Government will introduce more flexibility to the furlough scheme in a measured way that protects people’s incomes and helps support furloughed employees as they return to work. From August through to the end of October, employers currently using the scheme will have more flexibility to bring their furloughed employees back to work part-time while still receiving support from the scheme. Employers using the scheme will start contributing some of the costs of their workers’ salaries, substituting in part the contribution that the Government is currently making. The Government will outline more details of how this will work by the end of May.

Self-employment Income Support Scheme

Chris Elmore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending the Self-Employment Income Support scheme beyond the single instalment covering three months and capped at £7,500.

Jesse Norman: The UK has one of the most generous self-employed COVID-19 support schemes in the world. The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme opened on 13 May, ahead of schedule, and it provides support worth up to £7,500 each to millions of individuals. Recipients will have the grants in their bank accounts by end of this month. The Chancellor will keep the scheme under review.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Staffordshire

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many grants have been provided through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Kidsgrove.

Jesse Norman: Applications for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) opened on Monday 20 April. By close 11 May, HMRC had received 935,000 claims representing 7.5m furloughed employments and £10.1bn. This is a new scheme and HMRC are currently working through the analysis they will be able to provide based on the data available. HMRC will make the timescales for publication and the types of data available in due course.

Transport: Staffordshire

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to improve local transport infrastructure in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Kidsgrove.

Steve Barclay: As I set out in answer to my Honourable Friend’s previous question on this topic on 25 March, Budget 2020 confirmed that Stoke-on-Trent will receive a share of £117 million of the wider Transforming Cities Fund, subject to further business case approval, and a share of the £500m Potholes Fund in 2020-21, and £18.5 million investment in the Etruria Valley Link Road from the Local Growth Fund. I can now add that the region will also benefit from £2 billion cycling and walking investment set out by the Transport Secretary earlier this month, with further details to be confirmed in due course.

Disguised Remuneration Loan Charge Review

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 4 of the Independent Loan Charge Review: report on the policy and its implementation which states that the law on loan arrangements became clear in 2010, for what reasons the Finance Act 2017 included legislation on those arrangements.

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Sir Amyas Morse's Loan Charge review published in December 2019, what discussions his Department had with HMRC on changing loan charge arrangements prior to the introduction of the 2017 Finance Bill.

Jesse Norman: Disguised remuneration (DR) schemes have been used since the 1990s. The Government announced targeted anti-avoidance legislation to tackle DR schemes in a written ministerial statement in 2010, and introduced it in 2011. This aimed to put beyond doubt that DR schemes are ineffective and to discourage their use. Despite the Government’s attempts to eliminate the use of these schemes it was clear by Budget 2016 that DR schemes continued to proliferate. That is why the Government announced a package of measures to ensure DR scheme users pay their fair share of tax. These measures, including the Loan Charge, strengthened existing rules and aimed to draw a line under the use of DR tax avoidance schemes. This was legislated for in the Finance (No.2) Act 2017. HMT officials work closely with colleagues on all tax policy, including on the Government’s response to the use of DR tax avoidance schemes and on the introduction of the Loan Charge in Finance (No.2) Act 2017.

Tax Avoidance

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HMRC has taken to hold to account (a) lawyers, (b) accountants and (c) other licensed professionals who provided advice on avoidance schemes covered by the 2019 Loan Charge provisions of the Finance Act 2017.

Jesse Norman: HMRC vigorously pursue those who promote or enable tax avoidance schemes. HMRC recently published on GOV.UK a summary of the evidence they provided to Sir Amyas Morse’s Independent Review of the Loan Charge. This includes information on the measures introduced and action taken to tackle promoters and enablers of disguised remuneration and other tax avoidance schemes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-loan-charge-review-summary-of-evidence/section-8-powers-to-tackle-tax-avoidance In addition, HMRC published a policy paper in March 2020 laying out their approach to tackling promoters of mass-marketed tax avoidance schemes, and those who facilitate the use of these schemes. This can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-promoters-of-mass-marketed-tax-avoidance-schemes/tackling-promoters-of-mass-marketed-tax-avoidance-schemes The Government also announced at Budget 2020 two calls for evidence to assist with future initiatives; a forthcoming call for evidence on tackling future use of disguised remuneration, and a call for evidence on raising standards in the tax advice market: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/call-for-evidence-raising-standards-in-the-tax-advice-market.

Non-domestic Rates: Coronavirus

Afzal Khan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will extend the business rates holiday available to the hospitality, retail, and leisure sectors to include the English language teaching sector.

Jesse Norman: The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors. A range of further measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for relief, has also been made available. This includes the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms keep people in employment, and the deferral of VAT payments for this quarter.

English Language: Education

Afzal Khan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support his Department has made available to the English language teaching sector in response to the covid-19 outbreak; and what plans his Department has to maintain that support once the covid-19 lockdown has ended.

Steve Barclay: The government is making sure that people and businesses have access to the support they need as quickly as possible. The English language teaching sector can apply for additional support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) where they meet the criteria. On 12 May, the Government announced that the CJRS will continue to the end of October. The Chancellor has been clear that getting people back to work will be introduced in a measured way, avoiding a cliff edge.

Self-employment Income Support Scheme: Carers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the financial effect on self-employed carers of including carer's allowance as part of the average income for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to take steps to provide support to self-employed carers that are not eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

Jesse Norman: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) has been designed to use information HMRC already held, in order to make it deliverable as quickly as possible and to minimise the risk of fraud. Eligibility for the SEISS and the value of the grant for eligible individuals is based on income tax self-assessment returns from 2016-17 to 2018-19. If an individual is in receipt of Carer’s Allowance and has other trading income, their trading profits must exceed the amount of other income, including taxable benefits such as Carer’s Allowance, otherwise they will not meet the eligibility criteria for the SEISS. Individuals who are not eligible for a grant through the SEISS may benefit from other Government support such as the relaxation of the Universal Credit minimum income floor.

Free School Meals: Voucher Schemes

Apsana Begum: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of the State for Education on the (a) adequacy of funding for and (b) operation of the free school meal voucher scheme.

Steve Barclay: During this period, we are asking schools to support pupils eligible for benefits-related free school meals by providing meals or food parcels through their existing food providers wherever possible. The national voucher scheme provides an alternative with costs covered by the Department for Education. Schools are able to order a single voucher to the value of £15 each week for every child eligible for benefits-related free school meals who is not attending school. This is more generous than the weekly amount provided to schools for provision of free school meals, recognising that families will not buy in bulk and therefore will not be able to achieve the same economies of scale. Voucher codes are being processed and many thousands of families are redeeming them. As of Tuesday 12 May, Edenred reported that more than £70 million worth of voucher codes have been redeemed into supermarket e-gift cards by schools and families.

Credit

Darren Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to extend the provisions of section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act to cover creditors that are third-parties.

John Glen: Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 usually only applies when there is a direct transactional relationship between the debtor (the consumer), the creditor (the credit card provider), and the supplier of goods and services. If a credit card is used to pay for something through a third-party intermediary service, for example a payment services provider, the conditions in section 75 may not be met. This aims to strike the right balance between consumer protection and proportionate burdens on business, and the Government does not intend to extend the liability of a creditor with respect to suppliers with which it has no relationship or arrangement.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Damien Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support the Government is providing to people who began employment before 19 March 2020 but were only added to their employers' payroll after the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme's cut-off date.

Jesse Norman: Furloughed employees must have been on their employer’s PAYE payroll and HMRC must have received an RTI (Real Time Information) submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before 19 March 2020. The use of RTI allows HMRC to verify claims in the most efficient and timely way, ensuring payments can be made quickly while reducing the risk of fraud. Without the use of RTI returns it would be difficult to verify claims without significant additional checks, which would delay payment for genuine claims. The Government is also supporting people on low incomes who need to rely on the welfare system through a significant package of temporary measures. This includes a £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element, and a nearly £1bn increase in support for renters through increases to the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants. These changes will benefit all new and existing claimants. Anyone can check their eligibility and apply for Universal Credit by visiting: https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit.

Short Time Working: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support workers receive if their employer places them on short time working as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Jesse Norman: Workers whose earnings fall due to a reduction in their work hours may become eligible for support through the welfare system, in particular through Universal Credit (UC). Existing UC claimants will normally receive a higher award as a result of a fall in earnings. For employed claimants this will be updated automatically using information from the PAYE system. The Government has announced a package of temporary measures to support those on low incomes through the outbreak, including increasing the UC standard allowance by £20 per week. The Chancellor has also recently announced that he will introduce more flexibility into the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to support the transition back to work, with employers able to bring furloughed employees back part-time from August. The scheme has been extended until the end of October, and will continue to provide the same level of overall support to employees as now, at 80% of their current salary, up to £2,500 a month. The Government will set out the full details by the end of this month.

Directors: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to provide financial support to people who are sole directors of a limited company during the covid-19 outbreak.

Jesse Norman: Sole directors who pay themselves a salary through their own company may be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). The CJRS is available to employers, including personal service companies, and individuals paying themselves a salary through a PAYE scheme are eligible.Employers can use a portal to claim for 80% of the usual monthly wage costs of furloughed employees (employees on a leave of absence) up to £2,500 a month, plus the associated Employer National Insurance contributions and minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contributions for that wage. This scheme supplements the other significant support announced for UK businesses, including the Bounce Back Loans Scheme for small businesses, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the deferral of tax payments. More information about the full range of business support measures is available at www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support/.

Small Businesses: Government Assistance

Munira Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend Government financial support for (a) English Language Teaching centres and (b) other seasonal industries after the covid-10 lockdown has ended.

Steve Barclay: The government is making sure that people and businesses have access to the support they need as quickly as possible. The English language teaching sector and other seasonal industries can apply for additional support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme where they meet the criteria for these schemes. On 12 May, the Government announced that the CJRS will continue to the end of October. The Chancellor has been clear that getting people back to work will be introduced in a measured way, avoiding a cliff edge.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his response to the question asked by the hon Member for Cardiff West in the urgent question from the Rt hon Member for Oxford East on 12 May 2020, what the evidential basis is for the calculation that there are 120,000 people who were due to start a job after 28 February 2020 and who are not covered by the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme.

Jesse Norman: The figures provided on 12 May were initial estimates based on PAYE RTI submissions to 8 April. PAYE schemes have until 19 April following the end of the tax year to submit details of payments. Equivalent figures based on complete data are not yet available. The data submitted by employers omits start and leaving dates for a proportion of employments, and to provide complete and full figures it would be necessary to estimate these dates. This has not been possible in the time available to answer this question.

Beer: Excise Duties

Owen Thompson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) freezing and (b) deferring beer duty for the independent brewery sector during the covid-19 outbreak.

Kemi Badenoch: To support brewers and drinkers, at the Budget the Government froze beer duty for the third consecutive Budget. The Government appreciates that brewers, particularly small or craft ones, are facing a challenging trading period due to COVID-19. However, they can benefit from the unprecedented package of business support offered by the Government. In addition, if brewers need more help, they can use HMRC’s Time To Pay service to seek deferrals of any of their taxes, including beer duty. HMRC will waive late payment penalties and interest where a brewer cannot pay taxes due to COVID-19.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Mass Media: Public Health

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of arranging with the Independent Community News Network and the  Publish Interest News Foundation for a portion of public health campaign spending to be disbursed across the independent media sector.

Mr John Whittingdale: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 19 May 2020.The correct answer should have been:

I met with the Independent Community News Network and the Public Interest News Foundation on 6 May to discuss Government support for the independent news publishing sector in light of the impacts of Covid-19. This meeting included a discussion on the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak on the independent news media sector, the Government's public information awareness campaign, and the ways in which the independent sector may be used to reach underserved audiences. I continue to engage with them via regular biweekly press sector meetings All titles utilised in the public health campaign have been selected by the Government's media planning and buying agency, OmniGOV. As with any media planning approach, titles are selected on their ability to engage with audiences at a national, regional and local level and to ensure value for money, reach and targeting efficacy. The current partnership brings together over 600 national, regional and local titles across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to reach 49 million people a month. The vast majority of titles are local papers and additional titles have been selected in order to further reach priority audiences including BAME and older men. The government recognises the vital role of independent newspapers in supporting communities by ensuring the provision of reliable, high-quality information throughout the current pandemic. Safeguarding the UK’s news media so that they are able to continue to provide this is a key priority for the government and we are in regular dialogue with a range of stakeholders, including publishers, the Independent Community News Network and the Public Interest News Foundation to ensure that our response to the challenges they are facing is as effective and wide reaching as it can be. The government will continue to consider all possible options in the interests of promoting and sustaining high-quality news journalism. Never have the activities of journalists been more popular and critical; providing quality news to all, including those self-isolating, and binding communities together, a fundamental function of our modern day democracy.

Mr John Whittingdale: I met with the Independent Community News Network and the Public Interest News Foundation on 6 May to discuss Government support for the independent news publishing sector in light of the impacts of Covid-19. This meeting included a discussion on the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak on the independent news media sector, the Government's public information awareness campaign, and the ways in which the independent sector may be used to reach underserved audiences. I continue to engage with them via regular biweekly press sector meetings All titles utilised in the public health campaign have been selected by the Government's media planning and buying agency, OmniGOV. As with any media planning approach, titles are selected on their ability to engage with audiences at a national, regional and local level and to ensure value for money, reach and targeting efficacy. The current partnership brings together over 600 national, regional and local titles across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to reach 49 million people a month. The vast majority of titles are local papers and additional titles have been selected in order to further reach priority audiences including BAME and older men. The government recognises the vital role of independent newspapers in supporting communities by ensuring the provision of reliable, high-quality information throughout the current pandemic. Safeguarding the UK’s news media so that they are able to continue to provide this is a key priority for the government and we are in regular dialogue with a range of stakeholders, including publishers, the Independent Community News Network and the Public Interest News Foundation to ensure that our response to the challenges they are facing is as effective and wide reaching as it can be. The government will continue to consider all possible options in the interests of promoting and sustaining high-quality news journalism. Never have the activities of journalists been more popular and critical; providing quality news to all, including those self-isolating, and binding communities together, a fundamental function of our modern day democracy.

Mass Media: Coronavirus

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will meet with the (a)Independent Community News Network and (b) Publish Interest News Foundation to discuss the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the independent news media sector.

Mr John Whittingdale: I met with the Independent Community News Network and the Public Interest News Foundation on 6 May to discuss Government support for the independent news publishing sector in light of the impacts of Covid-19. This meeting included a discussion on the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak on the independent news media sector, the Government's public information awareness campaign, and the ways in which the independent sector may be used to reach underserved audiences. I continue to engage with the

Youth Services: Coronavirus

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government plans to take to support children reliant on youth services as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are lifted.

Mr John Whittingdale: This department recognises the unprecedented impacts the pandemic has had on the youth sector, and on the vital services it provides for young people. DCMS is engaging regularly with key youth organisations and other government departments to understand options for addressing this and the path for reopening services as lockdown measures are eased and when the science allows. Organisations working with young people are also eligible for a number of Government and Arm Length Bodies funds, in addition to the wider HM Treasury support packages.

Golf: Coronavirus

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport, whether golf courses are allowed to reopen during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nigel Huddleston: Any facilities associated with outdoor sports and physical activities including golf courses can reopen, if those responsible for them feel ready to do so and if they can do so safely, and in line with related public health guidance.

Tourism: Coronavirus

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support British tourism during the covid-19 pandemic.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government is committed to helping the British tourism industry through this crisis and beyond. We will continue to engage with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support the sector during the recovery period.We have announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency. This includes employee support, business rates relief and grants for eligible hospitality and leisure businesses, plus £330bn worth of government backed and guaranteed loans. The Chancellor also introduced a Bounce Back loan scheme to help small businesses access loans of up to £50,000, with a 100% government-backed guarantee for lenders.To accommodate certain small businesses previously outside the scope of the business grant funds scheme, the Government has allocated additional funding to Local Authorities in England in the form of a discretionary grant fund of up to £617m. Through VisitEngland, we announced a £1.3 million scheme to provide financial support to Destination Management Organisations at risk of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.We have recently set up the Visitor Economy Working Group which will specifically focus on the practicalities and guidelines for opening up the tourism sector and recovery.

Holiday Accommodation: Coronavirus

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his Department has to support holiday lettings businesses during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government is committed to helping all holiday accommodation businesses through this crisis. We will continue to engage with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support the tourism industry during the recovery period. We have announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency. This includes a Bounce Back loan scheme to help small businesses access loans of up to £50,000, with a 100% government-backed guarantee for lenders. To accommodate certain small businesses previously outside the scope of the business grant funds scheme, the Government has allocated additional funding to Local Authorities in England in the form of a discretionary grant fund of up to £617m.

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons: Parliamentary Proceedings

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what recent assessment the Commission has made of the effectiveness of the functioning of the hybrid procedures for the House.

Pete Wishart: The Commission has made no formal assessment of the effectiveness of the implementation of hybrid proceedings in this House. The Speaker, as Chair of Commission, continues to work with the Procedure Committee, which is undertaking a review of the operation of hybrid proceedings, in order to ensure a wide range of Members’ views are taken into account. A group of officials regularly meets to review planning for the services provided by the House to ensure they are commensurate with the needs of Members and other users of the Estate.I should like to put on record the Commission’s appreciation for the work by the staff of the House and the Parliamentary Digital Service in delivering, at great speed, such radical changes to the way the House operates, which have allowed it to discharge its key functions under extraordinary circumstances.

Parliament: Coronavirus

Caroline Nokes: To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether (a) the guidance entitled, Working Safely During Coronavirus, issued for offices and contact centres on 11 May 2020 applies to the Parliamentary Estate and (b) the Commission plans to implement the measures outlined in that guidance.

Pete Wishart: The House Service is currently working in conjunction with Public Health England to ensure we meet the government guidelines to become a ‘COVID-19 secure’ workplace, and to build on our existing measures to ensure all those working on the estate can do so safely. Given the variety of activities that are undertaken on the estate, a number of the sector specific guidance documents are relevant, all of which are being reviewed and measures taken where required.

Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body

Palace of Westminster: Repairs and Maintenance

Andrew Percy: To ask the Right hon. Member for East Hampshire representing the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body, what assessment he has made of the merits of including (a) swift bricks, (b) bird boxes, (c) beehives, and (d) others in the refurbishment of the Palace of Westminster.

Damian Hinds: The Restoration and Renewal Programme has conducted preliminary assessments of the potential benefits of promoting biodiversity as part of the restoration works, including the introduction of swift bricks and bird boxes, and the desirability of such measures will be subject to the requirements of both Houses. The potential inclusion of beehives will require more careful consideration, including the health and safety implications, while other measures could include ensuring that all planting is pollinator friendly. The Sponsor Body has also agreed a strategic objective for the Programme to optimise the environmental impacty of the Palace in its construction and operation, which has been endorsed by the Commissions of both Houses and will be kept under review as the Programme progresses.

Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Coronavirus

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, when the telephone line for IPSA will be re-opened.

Sir Charles Walker: On 17 March, IPSA moved all of its staff to homeworking, in line with Government guidance. Members were asked to communicate any queries by email, and IPSA staff then called or emailed them back to provide advice or resolve any issues.Phone lines reopened on 21 April, when IPSA adopted the common retail approach of a call booking system. This was trialled with around 70 MPs’ offices on their User Group in order to ensure the system worked effectively. Following a successful trial, on 4 May the approach was implemented for all Members of Parliament and their staff who are now able to book phone calls with IPSA payroll and support staff at a convenient time. IPSA has received 286 call bookings so far.IPSA will keep these arrangements under review to ensure effective support to Members and their staff at this time.